A Hero's Path
by NexyVsBlacky
Summary: Being one of the youngest scientist at Stark Industries, Alice Hart leads a careful and peaceful life. On a fateful night, that life takes an abrupt turn. Meeting very special people, she will have to take an important decision. With enemies threatening the world, Alice will soon walk on a new path. The path to become a hero. Warning : Spoilers for Age of Ultron
1. Prologue

**A Hero's Path**

 **Prologue**

Something was wrong. Yeah...Something was definitely wrong. And the worst was that she couldn't exactly point exactly what. How frustrating !

"Alice !"

The woman wouldn't turn around, she had to think about the problem in front of her.

"Alice !"

Ignoring the calls, she continued studying the object in front of her.

"Bloody hell Alice ! Will you for gosh sake turn around !?"

Frowning, she did so and glared at the man in front of her. "Thomas... Don't you see I'm concentrating ? I have work to do and there is something wrong with the sample I tried the solution on. Is it urgent ?"

Thomas closed his eyes to calm down. His colleague and friend was a brilliant scientist but she could be a hassle when interrupted in her work.

"Miss Potts is calling for you. She said something about lunch..." He looked at her expectantly.

"Oh right ! I totally forgot ! Can you do me a favor and put this sample in the fridge ? I'll finish after I'm back. I'm late right now." she remembered.

Thomas sighted "As usual Alice... Well don't worry and go, I'll take care of everything."

Smiling gratefully, she went to the lockers reserved for her research unit and exchanged her white coat for her jacket and bag.

She arrived running to the building hall and saw Pepper talking with Happy. "Pepper ! Sorry I'm late ! I was working on this sample and it showed a strange reaction to the new product, perhaps due to it's fast cellular replication..." She babbled.

Pepper smirked and interrupted her friend. "Alice I'm used to you being late because of work. You don't have to explain it every time with your techno-babble."

"Sorry Pepper, you are nice to put up with me" She smiled embarrassed.

"I can put up with Tony so I think I can do the same with you."

Laughing, they headed out of the building, followed by Happy, to go to their usual lunch restaurant.

"So how is Tony ? Still working with the avengers ?"

Even though she had worked here for 4 years now, she still haven't had a glimpse of her boss except on TV. It wasn't unusual of course among the employees at Stark Industries, since they were a bunch and he was busy.

She had met Pepper at her job interview. Pepper made sure to meet all the researchers, and she wanted a word with her since she was so young and just graduated her bioengineering degree. Alice was what they call a genius, graduating at 20. She also took interest in other disciplines, one of them being chemistry. Pepper couldn't let go of a brilliant mind like her. After further chats, they quickly became friends.

"He is so busy. He is like you, passionate about his work, I have to force him to eat or to take a shower at times." She smiled fondly. "But he always find time to be with me, no matter what. And yes he continues to work with the avengers. He's on mission right now actually. I think it's good for him, to be with them. After the invasion he wasn't the same. And the Mandarin case was a big toll on him. But with them, I think he can feel safer, more useful. He won't ever admit though."

Alice put an encouraging hand on her friend's arm. "You're here for him too, don't forget that makes a huge difference too. You really care for each other and that's also what's helping him. Putting on a robot suit isn't enough to hide your fears. And I think that's what these events taught him. He learned to lean on people around him, not treat them as a burden. You were one of the reasons he could see that, trust me."

Pepper stared at Alice. Sometimes she couldn't believe that she was only 24. "You're right. And also, I think I prefer him to be around them. They keep him balanced. Well, when I'm not with him anyway."

"That may be true. Now, tell me, what kind of mission is he on now ?"

Pepper had told her about SHIELD, not in details though, but Alice already heard about the agency, even if she wouldn't tell about it to anyone.

"I can't tell you the details, but it's abroad, somewhere in Eastern Europe."

"Well I think with all his travels you should ask him to bring you souvenirs." They laughed and continued eating, then went back to their respective jobs.

* * *

When Alice left the lab, it was already dark. After she found a parking place near her street, she walked tiredly to her flat.

On the way, she heard a strangled scream from an alleyway. Quietly, heart beating fast, she went toward the sound. Right at the end was a man, strangling a teenage boy, leaving her horrified at the sight.

"I promised myself not to use them." She thought. "But I think that's a case of emergency."

Closing her eyes, she concentrated. Suddenly, time stopped in the alleyway. Everything was frozen. Breathing hard, she ran to the man. With a touch, she put him to sleep. She laid down the boy, barely conscious, and looked at his bruised neck. With the touch of her hands on it, the damaged skin returned to its normal color, but not completely. Murmuring words in his ear, she quietly left the scene.

* * *

The boy, slowly awakening, looked at where his savior had left. His pain had disappeared with her, and he was alive. He couldn't see what she looked like, too dark. But he remembered clearly her words. "Don't talk about this. Call the cops and press charges. He will wake up in an hour. You have enough evidence. Your neck will heal completely tomorrow night. And next time, go home before dark."

He would never make the same mistake again. Thanking god for his "angel", the boy quickly dialed 911 with shaking hands.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Next morning, Alice saw on the news that a man, suspected for having raped and killed a dozen of teenage boys, had been arrested. He was found unconscious in an alleyway. He seemed to have tried to make another victim, but was "put down" by who the boy called his savior. He couldn't see who, as he was on the verge of passing out. But just before leaving from the hospital, as he looked at the camera, he said his thanks again.

"I couldn't tell my savior yesterday, but thank you so much for saving my life." Tears falling down, he hugged his parents and went inside the car.

Alice smiled. "Sometimes using these powers is not that bad. Look at me, playing the mysterious superhero," she told her cat, Simba. She would help out for situations like these. She didn't want to use her powers but she was not heartless. Her time controlling power was limited, and she could only use it when necessary.

Someone had taught her that manipulating time could be dangerous and sometimes had bad consequences. She trained a lot with him so not to make mistakes. It was a power with huge responsibilities. Using it too much and for everything could take a toll on her, and could even rip her from her sanity. No one but her mentor knew about her power. She had it since she was 5. Her mentor explained to her that she was born with this ability, and it developed after 5 years. It was latent until then. He also told her that thanks to that, she could instinctively know how to use it, and how not to use it. It was a mutation in her genetic code.

Since then, she wanted to study biology. But growing up, she turned to bioengineering. She had a thirst of learning everything about it. And she was good at what she did.

When she arrived at work, Happy was waiting for her. "Hey Happy ! How are you ?"

"Fine thank you Dr. Hart. And you ?"

"Come on Happy, after 4 years you still didn't drop the formalities ? Call me Alice."

"You know in here I must keep the formalities," he smiled. "The boss told me to give you a message. You have to wait for her tonight after work. She will beep you when she's ready to leave. She's like you, always working."

"All right no problem. See you Happy !" She waved. He waved back as she entered the elevator to go to her lab floor.

* * *

At 8pm, Alice went to Pepper's office. The door was open so she entered, knocking softly nonetheless. Pepper was on the phone.

"Yeah I'm leaving in 5 minutes don't worry. I just need to talk to Alice." Sighting, she rolled her eyes. "She's one of our employees Tony, and a friend of mine. I told you about her. Yes yes I'm almost leaving. Saturday night ? I have a meeting in Boston I won't make it... Yes I know and don't worry I will make it up to you tonight," she added softly. It seemed to work. "Love you !"

Hanging down, she glanced at Alice. "Sorry, he's back from his mission so he wants us to celebrate."

"No problem, I'm happy you got him back," Alice winked.

"He planned a big party with his avengers friends but I won't be able to make it sadly. I wanted to take you to dinner tonight but..."

Alice smiled knowingly. "Don't worry, go see him. I didn't finish my work anyway so I will catch up, since I don't work this weekend."

"You're the best ! Well don't worry I will make it up to you too."

"Ew ! Please don't !" Laughing, they waved goodbye.

* * *

A few hours later, a shout echoed in the empty lab.

"Finally ! I did it !"

After changing the proportions, the solution reacted as Alice wanted on the product. She could now test it on a bigger product. She was conducting research on compatibility between living organisms and robotic. She was testing it with animal and human cells, but today she made a big jump. Finally the cells seemed to evolve rapidly with the metallic product, changing their genetic code to mix it with the object atoms. She could now test it on a bigger scale. It was a real progress and it could be revolutionary in the medical world. People would be able to truly control, feel their prosthesis like it was their original member. She was truly ecstatic about it.

She finished writing her report and submitted it to the lab server. Glancing at the clock showing 2am, she called it a night.

Apparently, her car thought otherwise. It wouldn't start. Looking under the hood, she saw where the problem was from, but she didn't have the tools necessary at hand, and most importantly the energy to give it a try. She would have to take public transportation.

Once in the subway, she relaxed on a seat, waiting, her eyes slowly closing. "Can't wait to get home..." The platform was almost empty, with 5 people including her. A man sat two seats next to her, hood on. He seemed strange. But she was too tired to care.

After a while, four people also arrived, but not the train. Alice had a strange feeling about them. The hood guy also noticed them and tensed, clenching his backpack. One of the four, a blond guy, dressed casual and well built, sat two seats on the other side of the hood guy. Two other men stayed each near a stairway. A red hair woman was a few seats away.

Alice didn't know how, but she knew something was going to happen. The fact that the train wasn't yet here was weird. Suddenly feeling anxious, she hesitated. Was she going to stay here or quietly leaving the scene and these people who obviously wanted something from the hood guy ? She was afraid that by getting up, she would trigger something. And she didn't want to be part of any of this. The hood guy was showing signs of stress. He seemed ready to take whatever actions he had planned. A woman, fed up with waiting for a train that was clearly not coming, got up and went for the stairs. Nothing happened when she passed by. Alice took it as a sign and also got up to leave.

Turned out, it was not such a good idea. The hood guy did the same and jumped on Alice. Everything seemed to happen so fast, she hadn't had time to do anything. She felt something metallic on her temple. She heard screams of people panicking and flying up the stairs, guided by one the four strange persons.

The red headed woman pressed a finger on her ear. "Bystanders leaving the platform, need to retrieve them. Target has taken a hostage. Need backup."

"You think you could take me easily ? Well you are clearly wrong because I won't hesitate to shoot, and I know some of you don't want that to happen," the hood guy spoke.

The blond man took a step forward. "Come on Tyler, you couldn't think taking those chemicals would be ignored. They are dangerous and I think you know that, since you were one of its maker."

"Stark should not be the only one to make decisions about this. He can't expect to me to keep the fruit of my research a secret !"

"You were not suppose to make it a weapon. You somehow changed the components to make it life-threatening. You ignored the warnings to make you stop and hide it from us. Stark asked us to get them back because he fears you would do something dangerous."

"I'm not mad ! I just want the world to know of my research ! After all I did, I deserve better than to be working with a leash. I deserve to be recognized for the value of my work ! I even got a call from someone who would be interested in hiring me to make more. I can do so much more ! I won't let you take my future away from me !"

Tyler backed away still holding Alice. "If only I could use my powers, but these guys can't know about them," she thought. She knew his bag contained something dangerous, so she had to be careful of her next move. Her mentor once told her about self-defense. "Sometimes, the most simple move is the most efficient. Trust your instincts."

She suddenly head-butted her aggressor, taking him by surprise. She took his bag from him and threw it at one of the people in front of her. Cursing, Tyler threw her on the rails behind, knocking her on the temple with his gun in the process.

She passed out for a few minutes it seemed, because when she came to, Tyler was unconscious, handcuffed and transported by two other guys. Dizzy, Alice tried to get up, but her head wound was preventing her from it. The blond man jumped to get her. "Don't worry ma'am, we'll take you to a hospital." She nodded. She couldn't help but feel like she saw this person before.

"Steve ! We have a problem !"

Lifting her, he took her back on the platform and laid her down. He then ran to his partner.

"The chemicals, he implanted them in a bomb and managed to trigger it before we took him down. If it explodes, the toxin will spread. We need to evacuate, but I'm not sure how much damage it will make. I can't do anything, it seems that another chemical is used as a timer." She explained to him.

"What do you mean ?"

"Once this solution finishes evaporating, it will explode. But it's something I've never seen before."

"Should we call Banner or Stark ?"

"The won't arrive in time !"

After hearing the name of her boss, she understood they were SHIELD agents, possibly avengers. "I can help." She managed to say loud enough for them to hear.

Snapping their heads to her, Red Hair frowned. "What do you mean ?"

"I'm a scientist and I specialize in a few things. I can help," Alice repeated.

Steve went to help her get up and brought her to the bomb. "I don't know if it's such a good idea... you've been knocked out," he hesitated.

"Don't worry, I can do this. Just let me get a look at it."

She examined the bomb. The solution was inside the bomb, separated from the other chemicals which were protected by a sort of closed container. The solution was evaporating through a small grid. She needed to know the nature of the liquid. It seemed like a sort of solvent but she couldn't do anything to keep it from evaporating for now. She decided to examine the bomb itself. The electronic part was linked to the inside of the grid. "I need water. In a bottle. Now."

Steve went to the vending machine of the platform. Punching it, he broke the glass easily and caught a bottle. He went back fast and gave it to her.

"All right, now I will take off the grid. It will accelerate the evaporation. The solvent needs to stay inside the container. There must be some sensors inside it so that once it's empty, it explodes. But we can't replace it, the man must have programmed the sensors to be specific of the nature of this solvent. I will try something desperate so if you wanna go now is the time."

Nodding, they stayed nonetheless. "We must be quick, backup is on the way," Red Hair informed.

If Alice couldn't fool the sensors, then she could fool the electronics attached to it. She had to froze them. Or at least drown them first. It was their only chance, or the only one the agents should know about for now anyway.

"Sir, I need my bag. It fell with me earlier."

Steve nodded and got it back for her. She took the small juice box she kept after her lunch. She took the straw. She took a deep breath before putting some water in her mouth. She then pulled back the grid, and with the straw, she quickly reached her target : the electric circuit. Trough the straw, she blew a little water. She heard a faint sound and smelled burnt electronics. She did it. Even if the container was empty, the sensors weren't working anymore, the source being burnt. Sighting from relief, she explained it to the agents, who nervously watched her.

"We are safe for now. There will be enough time for your experts to examine it and get back what you want. The electronics are deactivated."

Relieved, they relaxed, waiting for backup, Red Hair warning them through her ear device.

"Well, seems to me you don't need any dashing rescue," Blond Guy joked. "I'm Steve by the way. She's Natasha. What's your name ?"

"Alice."

At that moment, a guy followed by a few guys in lab clothes and others in suits arrived. They secured the bomb and took it away while the man went to the three of them. He had brown hair and wore a bow and arrows on his back.

"Clint, glad you're here. The others passengers ?"

"Safe and sound. The cameras are off, and they thought it was just a simple attack in the subway. We intercepted their calls to the police."

"Looks like we can go home and relax," Steve said. "And tonight is the party, we don't want to miss it."

Clint smiled, nodding and turned to Alice. "Sorry miss, what's your name ?"

"Alice."

"Any last name ?"

"Oh yeah sorry, I'm Dr Alice Hart. I work at Stark Industries."

"Really ? Well you seem young to be a doctor." The man said wide eyes.

Alice laughed. "Yeah I'm often told so, but I graduated early. So, can I go home ? I'm really tired and my head hurts like hell."

Steve helped her up. "No way ! You're going to a hospital miss."

"Don't worry I'm fine, I just need to sleep..."

Alice felt more dizzy now the adrenaline was gone from her system. The after shock was making her feel worse.

"Clint, I think she has a concussion." Natasha warned.

Alice was about to protest, when she felt herself falling into darkness.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Opening her eyes, she didn't recognize her room. Then it all went back to her, as well as a huge headache.

"Oh god..." She groaned, a hand on her eyes.

She was in a hospital bedroom. A beeping sound annoyingly monitored her heartbeats. The clock on the wall showed past noon. The door opened, revealing her friend Pepper. "You're awake !"

"Are you shouting ? Or is it my hangover-like-state that makes your voice a lot louder than it actually is ?"

Pepper laughed softly. "You had quite an adventure last night."

"Don't remind me..."

The door opened again to reveal none other than Tony Stark and Steve. "Ah so the little prodigy is awake."

Completely astonished by her boss presence, Alice tried to sit. "Don't. You have a concussion. Take it easy," Pepper advised. She laid down again, not sure of what to say.

"So you're the famous Alice Hart." Tony stated, smirking.

"Hum...famous sir ?"

"Oh god don't call me sir or I might die of old age please." Alice nodded slowly. "You really made a good impression on my colleagues yesterday," he added. "I wanted to hire you as soon as I heard but then I was told your name and the fact that you already worked for me."

Alice laughed. "Yeah kind of..." She looked at Steve. "So...Everything's ok ?"

"Everything's good miss. Just wanted to make sure you were ok. Natasha sends you her regards too, but she couldn't make it. The man is in jail."

"He also worked for me," Stark added. "He created dangerous chemicals behind our back and planned to sell his product. It would have probably ended in the wrong hands. And believe me, it wasn't apple juice."

"Well I'm fine really. Just glad that it's the weekend so I can rest. Hum... I won't be in trouble right ?"

Steve frowned. "Why ?"

"Because I kinda witnessed something I shouldn't have ?" she replied unsure.

Tony laughed hysterically while Pepper rolled her eyes at him. Steve seemed embarrassed. "Oh no miss ! Don't worry. As long as you don't talk about what you saw then there won't be a problem."

"Oh... That's good ! I really like my job so I don't want to have any problems..." She trailed off looking at Stark.

"Don't worry about it kid. I read your papers and reports, it's really brilliant. Don't want to throw away a genius employee."

"Thank you mister Stark" Alice smiled, slightly embarrassed.

Pepper laughed at Tony's face. "Please for the last time don't call me that, I feel like my dad."

Pepper took Alice's hand. "Tony wants to invite you to his party tonight, as repayment. I won't be there but don't worry they're nice people."

"You don't need to repay me or anything..."

"Come on, it'll be fun," he insisted. "There will be a lot of famous people : Steve Rogers here, but you know him as Captain America..." Alice looked at Steve, her mouth gaped open. Steve laughed slightly. "...Also Dr Banner, Thor and his fangirl Dr Cho..."

"Dr Banner ? Dr Cho ? As in Dr Bruce Banner and Dr Helen Cho ?!" She paused. "Wait...Thor ?!"

"Exactly ! And me of course. So you need to come."

Alice knew that wasn't a good idea but that was such a rare opportunity to meet great researchers. Her scientific mind won over her usual carefulness. "Well I'll be there. But won't I be a burden ? I mean I know no one... And Pepper you won't be there."

"You know Steve and Tony now," Pepper reassured her. "You're always working. You need to go out a little sometimes, meet new people. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. We'll be going now. See you in one week at work ? Since I will be on a business trip."

"Count on it !"

They left as the doctor came to tell her to take it easy and sent her home. Since it wasn't that bad, she didn't want to use her abilities on herself.

* * *

At home, she rested a little and then got ready. She put on a dark green dress, knee length, that matched her green eyes. She braided her long brown hair and put it on her shoulder. She wasn't tall at only 5'4'', but she didn't like high heels. She put some moderate heels on, took her purse and went to her car, that Pepper kindly made someone repair for her and brought it back.

Once in front of the Avengers Tower, she was met by a man robotic voice. "Are you a guest of Mr Stark ?"

"Huh yes my name is Alice Hart."

"Good evening Dr Hart, you're authorized to go up."

She went to the elevator, which seemed to know where to take her. The party hall was quite full. As soon as she stepped in, the red headed woman she saw last night, Natasha, went to meet her. She was shortly followed by the bow guy.

"Hello again Dr Hart. I didn't introduce myself properly, I'm Natasha Romanoff."

"Hi there, I'm Clint Barton. That was quite a night you had."

"Well I suppose you're accustomed to those kind of nights more than me," joked Alice.

Natasha smirked. "True that. You helped us a lot though."

Alice was about to respond when Dr Bruce Banner approached them. She was suddenly frozen as she had a ton of things she wanted to ask him about his research.

Clint smiled knowingly and whispered to Natasha : "I think you have a rival." She just raised an eyebrow.

"Dr Banner, that's truly an honor to meet you. I've read your papers about gamma radiation and I really found it brilliant. Are you working on an alternative method for your research ? Since you disappeared from the science world for a while, maybe..." She stopped herself before going too far in her babbling, embarrassed. "I'm sorry you probably don't want to talk about that subject, especially during a party. I talk too much. I just really wanted to meet you and Dr Cho."

Clint suppressed a laugh and murmured to his red headed friend : "Seems like she's not rival, more like a scientist fangirl." Natasha rolled her eyes.

"No don't worry it's good to see young people like you interested in those subjects. Dr Cho is just over there," Banner said pointing to the Korean woman.

The four chatted a while before she went to Dr Cho, not before meeting her boss, who made it his mission to introduce her to every of his guests, until Dr Cho. She rapidly bonded with her fellow doctor. They talked a lot, until Alice noticed that a lot of people left, leaving her, Dr Cho, Thor, Colonel James Rhodes, Natasha, Steve, Banner, Tony, Clint, Sam Wilson and Maria Hill.

"Maybe I should go too..." Alice trailed off, feeling slightly out of place.

"Please stay. If you leave me alone with these superheroes, I'll feel like a stranger," Helen laughed. Alice nodded, happy. She liked Dr Cho a lot. When she glanced at the avengers and fellow heroes, she saw that they were competing for Thor's hammer, as if it was Excalibur. Both doctors approached.

"Come on Nat," Clint said.

His friend waved her hand in amused refusal. "I don't need the answer to that question."

Steve surprisingly almost lifted the hammer.

"It's biometrics, right?" Stark asked. "Like a security code? Whoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints is, I think, the literal translation."

Thor smirked. "Yes, well that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one: You are not worthy"

Everyone laughed hard at that. But then a voice came from a some sort of a wrecked robot on the other side of the room.

"Worthy? How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

"Stark" Steve warned.

Tony tapped on his phone. "Jarvis. Reboot, we got a buggy suit."

"...There was a terrible noise... And I was tangled in... in... strings... I had to kill the other guy... He was a good guy." The android continued.

"You killed someone ?" Steve interrupted.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices." it answered.

"Who sent you ?" Thor asked, ready to fight. Tony's voice was suddenly played in the room : "I see a suit of armor around the world"

"Ultron..." Banner whispered. Everyone looked at him.

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this... chrysalis... But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

Natasha made a step forward. "What mission ?"

"Peace of our time."

Suddenly everything exploded, and everyone ran into battle. It sent other Stark's suits against them, as he could control them. Dr Cho and Alice backed away. Helen for the obvious reasons, and Alice because she didn't know how to help in this situation. Hiding near the piano, they watched the chaos unfolding in front of them. One of the suits arrived near them, lifting it's arm to shoot. Giving up on hiding, Alice was going to use her powers when she saw Ultron changing his mind, intrigued by something, and then Thor threw the suit somewhere else.

When the suits were turned off, only Ultron remained. "That was dramatic," he said. "I'm sorry... I know you mean well. But you just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve. There is only one path to peace... the Avengers extinction."

Thor threw his hammer at the suit, breaking it to pieces. Ultron sang a lullaby until the suit died, but they knew he just went somewhere else.

Everyone was quite shocked. Steve went to see how Helen and Alice were holding up. "I'm sorry this happened while you were here."

"Don't worry about us. You need to discuss with your team. We'll go back home just fine." Alice reassured him.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea to let you leave alone..."

Just then, Clint fell on the ground, blood flowing freely from his left side. Natasha immediately went to him. "Clint !"

"He knew about my previous wound. He blasted me exactly where I was shot at in Sokovia." He groaned in pain. "I think I'll need your tech once more Dr Cho. Or else I won't be able to shoot anything."

Helen examined his wound again. "We need to treat you asap ! It is much more serious than last time. I don't know how he knew but that was a very precise shot. We have to go prepare for my lab and bring you to the cradle, but I don't know if we have enough time..."

"This son of a bitch is planning to end us." Clint said, angered. "I have the feeling he was testing something when he shot me..."

Alice listened to them. Taking a deep breath, she made up her mind. "Maybe I can help you." Everyone turned around, making her shrink a little. "I mean...hum...about your wound." She didn't know why she suddenly broke her vow of keeping her secret. But she felt that these people were going to play a big part in the next events. They deserved her help.

Clint nodded carefully. She approached him, and touched his wounded side. Under her hands, a soft blur was waving on his skin, like it was repainting his skin. Tony looked at her, gaping. "You are enhanced ? I didn't know I had an enhanced employee ! I should read the profiles more often..."

"I was born with this ability. It's useful to heal people, but dangerous to use it either way. That's why I preferred to keep it secret."

She withdrew her hand. Clint blinked, feeling as if nothing ever happened. "Don't worry we won't bother you with that. Thanks a lot kid, I don't feel any pain anymore." Everyone was relieved to hear that.

She and Helen then left them to their meeting, knowing that they would only burden them. "So you have special abilities..." Helen trailed off.

"Yeah...kinda..."

Sensing her reticence, Helen changed the subject. "I can't believe he didn't shoot."

"Ultron ?" Alice asked.

"Yeah... It's like he saw something when he looked at me."

"Then I suggest you stay in the tower with them or at least stay somewhere safer."

"Don't worry Alice, I'll be fine. I'll hire more security."

Alice had a feeling it wasn't fine at all... Something big was going to happen. And she didn't know which part she was going to take yet.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

She was woken up the next afternoon by knocks on her door. Feeling more tired than ever, she managed to open it, revealing Maria Hill.

"Oh ! Huh hello." Alice greeted, feeling self-conscious with her clothes.

"Hello Dr Hart, I'm sorry to wake you up but I'm here to ask you something. Actually, I'm here to make a deal with you."

"Oh hum please come on in." They sat at her kitchen table. Both stayed silent, sizing up the other.

"I thought about what you did yesterday, we were too busy to really think about it at that time, but now, after all that happened..." Maria started. "I really think you could be a great asset in this situation. I can't help but think we only saw a small amount of what you really can do. I know you wanted it to stay a secret. We never heard of you before, that means you really worked hard to be invisible. Why did you show it to us ?"

"Well... I guess with this threat coming, and I'm pretty sure the guy won't stop at killing the Avengers, I thought that sometimes you have to make some choices, in the best interest of yourself but also others. I kinda knew this would happen someday. I prefer to choose the moment myself."

Maria nodded, understanding her resolve. "Can you tell me more about your abilities ?"

Alice sighed. She knew she didn't have to say anything, but she brought it on herself by revealing her power.

"I more or less control time. But not like in those stories you see on TV. I can't work on big scales or go back in time. I manipulate smaller scales. Like what you saw last night. Accelerating his cells reparation. I can also stop time on small areas, like an alleyway. But I think you will be more interested in my abilities to stop time or accelerate it on organisms or objects. For example, stopping the brain waves for a while, or even the heart. I'm telling you this because I sense that I can trust you. But you still need to know this, becoming an assassin isn't how I plan to help."

Hill understood what she meant. She guessed it before coming here, after analyzing her profile.

"I'm not here to make you an assassin. I want just you to help us. There are enhanced people working for Ultron. I believe you can aid us with them. I don't plan to put you on the front line, but more in the backup line. We need every help we can have right now."

Alice hesitated, choosing her next words wisely.

"You have to understand. I will help you in any way I can, even against this robot. But controlling time isn't something trivial. It has consequences. For me but also on those I use it. You can't play with time. You have to be precise in using it, and you have to remember not to play god. It's easy to forget who you are and your limits when you manipulate something like this. It can bring you to madness or kill you and others. I want you to know that."

Maria wondered if she ever had experiences when something like that. She also wondered if she really was 24. But she knew that sometimes, some people had to grow up more quickly than others. Dr Hart seemed like someone who stood by her beliefs, someone who was wise enough to not stand only for her own benefits. After a while, she asked :

"Have you ever train ? Physically and with you abilities ? I assume you didn't have a lot of opportunities to use them."

Alice looked pensive for a few seconds, eyes reflecting a sadness.

"I...grew up with someone who taught me everything. He also trained me physically, as you said, so I can defend myself not only by using my powers. I may be not as good as your assassins though." 

After a few more questions, Alice accepted to join the Avengers in their mission against Ultron. They now needed to discuss it with the team. Alice got ready, handed her cat to her neighbors and packed a few things.

She was handed the files regarding Ultron and the mission, and also the team members abilities. She was not authorized to all the information, but she now knew the main part of their personal stories, at least for Banner, Thor, Stark and Rogers. Though Barton and Romanoff pasts stayed classified. 

On the way to the Avengers Tower, she couldn't help but wonder if she had make the good decision. Her mentor always warned her about the day she would have to disclose her abilities. Both knew it was inevitable, but she had to be cautious, not causing any unnecessary damage. She had to keep control. Her powers couldn't fall into the wrong hands.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When Maria arrived with Alice at the tower, Steve was the first to approach. "Hey Alice ! I don't think that's a good time to come visit because we're almost leaving on a mission..."

"She knows," Maria interrupted. "I asked for her help. I think her powers can be useful for the mission."

Clint had also come closer, soon followed by the others.

"I am sorry to say lady Alice, but healing is not really what we need most now," Thor weighed in.

Maria explained to them the other ways her powers worked. Banner looked extremely interested. "It's true that it could be useful, especially with the Maximoffs."

"I won't fight with you guys on the front line. I'm just merely here for backup. You don't need to worry about me."

"But last time with the guy who held you hostage you were hurt," Natasha reminded her.

"Yes but that's because I didn't want to show you my abilities. I've been living under the radar most of my life so of course I wouldn't use them in front of strangers, especially agents of some sort."

"What made you change your mind ?" Clint asked.

"As I was saying to Maria, I knew one day I would have to use them for a purpose. I chose this purpose because it is one close to my beliefs. I believe you guys are a good cause," she explained smiling. "I know that you are doubtful but trust me I can hold my own. From what I saw you need all the help you can. If you change your mind for whatever reasons you can just drop me in whatever city."

"She's right. We all know this is not going to go smoothly. Let's give ourselves the best chance. We are gonna need it. And she'll stay in the plane until we say so, so why not accept her help ?" Clint admitted. The rest of the team finally agreed to these arguments.

"OK but remember, you stay with Banner no matter what, unless he goes green. But in any case you stay in the plane. You're back up." Steve decreed.

"No problem. And Mr Stark ?" Alice nodded.

"Alice I'm beginning to wonder if you call me that only to mock me... Did Pepper told you to do it ? Cause don't forget I'm your boss," he said dramatically, a hand on his heart.

She laughed hard at that. He was really fun to talk to. "No of course not sorry ! I wanted to know if I still could keep my job ? I really want to continue my research...Tony."

"But of course ! No stress Dr Who." Alice smiled at her nickname.

Afterward they discussed their plan. They had to go to South Africa where Ultron went to get his hands on vibranium, the most solid metal on earth. Captain America's shield was made of this metal alloy.

In the plane, Banner looked at Alice, who seemed a little nervous. "Don't worry. You'll stay here with me. And I only call the other guy in case we need a code green."

She nodded. She didn't want to tell him she was a little scared but mostly excited at the perspective of using her powers again. She rarely had the opportunity recently, and it felt good to be able to feel a part of herself she didn't feel since a long time.

* * *

Once the plane landed, everyone went inside the boat where Ulysses Klaw, the man who had access to the precious metal, were in. It was his data that seemed to have interested Ultron.

Banner and Alice where both really anxious, not hearing about the others for a while. They knew that if code green was needed, there was going to be a signal. If Ultron and the twins were inside that boat, there was no doubt that something would go wrong. Both didn't utter any word, lost in their thoughts and concentration.

An explosion occurred suddenly, making them jump.

"What's going on ? Is it a code green ?" Banner couldn't reach anyone. The signal seemed jammed. Alice began to feel something near them. A presence. Her instincts were most of the time accurate.

"Dr Banner, I think we're not alone. We are being watched I can sense it."

Bruce tensed. He had to be careful not to call the big guy, especially near Alice. She looked at him straight, guessing his thoughts. "Doctor I told you not to worry about me. Right now, I think the one they're after is mostly be you."

"Why ?"

"One of the twins can mess with our heads, I don't want to see that happen on you."

Banner nodded. "Maybe we should close the plane so that..."

He didn't have time to finish. A blue blur threw them on the ground. Alice jumped up and dodged just in time the second strike, but Banner wasn't that lucky. She suddenly sensed a presence behind her. The witch ! On instincts, her powers were activated, and everything froze. She turned around and saw a young woman her age, with red eyes and her hands lifted to where her head was a second ago. A young man, her brother with the silver hair, was also frozen, but a blue blur was still following him as she stopped him in a speed run. She kicked the witch and her brother in the stomachs and helped Bruce getting up, just before everything returned to its usual speed.

The twins were surprised, they didn't know who she was and what she could do. Confused, they slowly got up, as Alice pulled Banner to run out of here.

"We can't let them catch you doctor. It could be very dangerous if you let loose." she instructed, short on breath.

Bruce agreed, still confused by what just happened. But as they ran forward, Alice was pushed a few meters away against a tree. The Maximoff brother was pinning her.

"Alice !" Banner screamed.

"Doctor behind you !" She was about to call her powers but it was too late. Losing control, he began to transform, and the Hulk appeared.

Knowing she had to stop him, she threw a punch to silver guy, using her power to add more damage to it. He was brutally shoved onto the ground. His sister appeared at her side immediately to ripost but Alice knew better and gave her the same treatment as her brother.

She chased right away after the big guy. The Hulk was already running toward what Alice realized it to be the city of Johannesburg. And from the looks of it, he was more than ready to smash everything. Alice panicked and struggled to slow him down with her powers. But the task was getting harder as he was way ahead of her. She tried to call the team.

"We have a big green problem ! The witch messed with his head ! The Hulk has lost it and is on the loose ! Anyone hear me ?! He is running toward Johannesburg ! He's gonna destroy everything on his way ! Anyone here ?!"

She was suddenly thrown again, but this time she knocked her head pretty hard. The witch appeared next to her brother and bent down.

"This time," she said with a thick eastern accent, "you are not escaping it." Just as she was lifting her hand, eyes turning red again, Alice unexpectedly touched the witch's head, causing her to drop abruptly on the ground. His brother, alarmed by his sister state, let go of Alice to check on her. He cupped her face, examining her intently. "Wanda ! Wanda can you hear me ?! Wake up !"

Alice painfully got up. "It's you who are not escaping. I don't know what you wish to accomplish, but you should first begin to see who is the one you work for." She was about to touch the brother too, but seeing him, clenching on his sister like a treasure, she just couldn't.

"What did you do ?!"

"She's asleep. She'll wake up in an hour more or less. If you want to protect your sister, maybe you should forget about revenge." On this words, she rushed to the plane.

* * *

Pietro watched her go away. Torn between hatred, fear for his sister's life, and confusion, he was stuck to the ground. He didn't want to leave his sister, but that wasn't the only reason he let the woman go. Her words pierced him. Somehow, she succeeded in making him doubt his choices. He scooped up his sister to go to the meeting point Ultron told them about. First, he had to get her out of here.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Anyone read me ? Hello ?" Alice inquired, dead worried, when the signal finally came back.

"Clint here. I heard about Hulk. We could hear you but not reach you."

"Natasha ! We really could use a lullaby." Stark called.

"Well that's not gonna happen. Not for a while," Clint answered. "The whole team is down, you got no back up here."

After a short silence, Stark sighed. "I'm calling VERONICA."

"Who is Veronica ?" Alice asked.

"It's a protocol I designed for emergencies like this. It will drop a special cage from a satellite directly on the target, to contain it. The cage was created specially for the green guy," Stark explained.

* * *

Alice waited in the plane. She felt anxious about what happened to Banner. Clint soon arrived with everyone else. She ran to help him carrying Natasha while he could help Steve and Thor. Natasha seemed the most out of it. It was like she couldn't get out of whatever dream the witch put her in. She stared distantly ahead, not really looking. Thor and Steve seemed shocked, but had recovered more quickly than her. Clint was just hurt on the shoulder, but nothing serious. He squatted next to her, worried. "I can't bring her back."

"Let me help her," Alice offered. She softly touched Natasha's forehead. The red headed woman closed her eyes, falling asleep. "It will help her recover. I slowed down her brain waves a little, but just the ones that would make her sleep. She won't be able to dream or see any images. She'll wake up in a while."

"How ?"

"To put it simply I just turned off the TV."

Clint nodded, relieved. Alice healed him. "You know, I'm beginning to think I'm always treating you," she joked. He smiled sadly in return, his expression then darkening. "We were totally defenseless against her mind games. I was lucky but you should have seen the others... They behaved like zombies. I thought they were seeing ghosts. I gave her a gift before she could trick me. I don't ever want to have someone in my head again." He showed her one of his electrical arrows.

She remembered reading the details about what happened in the alien invasion in New York. He had been controlled by Loki, Thor's brother, making him turn against his team and friends.

"But I guess it wasn't enough to keep them away from you and Bruce,"he continued.

"Your hands were already fulled back there. How would you be able to help us while helping the others ? That was impossible. Don't worry, she's down for now. I just didn't have time to protect Dr Banner."

"I hope Tony will be able to knock some sense into him." He sat down in the pilot's seat, ready for their return.

Alice then timidly went to Thor. "Are you in pain sir ? I can help you with that." Thor shook his head. "No thank you lady Alice. It is just the memory of this vision which cannot leave me. Something felt off."

"You think your vision had a meaning ?"

"Yes. The effect of her power are not the same for a god than for a human. I must think it through."

Nodding, she left him to his thoughts and went to Steve. "Mister Rogers, are you alright ?"

"Call me Steve, I'm already old enough. I'm fine don't worry Alice. I just can't shake off what she showed me."

"I believe she uses our own fears to turn them against us. That's why she's so good at messing with people's head. Every one have a fear buried deep down."

At that moment, Natasha woke up. "How..."

"Alice put you to sleep to turn off your TV," roughly explained Clint from his seat.

"How is Bruce ?"

"Stark is trying to retrieve him right now."

Tony chose this moment to call them. "Green code's over. Got him back, open the plane." Clint did so, and the last team members made their entrance. Banner was beaten up pretty badly. He sat down quietly. Alice hurried to help him. "Sorry doctor but let me examine your wounds." He let her, not really caring, the weight of what he did crushing him. She silently healed him, understanding his need of a time alone, and went back to Steve.

"I can't believe the impact it had... I should know better, we should control our fears better," the soldier whispered.

She held his hands, looking right at his eyes. "Steve, fears are what makes us humans. Even if we bury them far away, they're still here, and they are a part of us. You are who you are because of them. It is not about hiding them or controlling them. It's about how you choose to face them. At one point, the only solution to move forward is to accept the challenge. The only choice we have is to find a way to put up with them, because they aren't going anywhere, believe me." Silence followed her statement, everyone secretly listening intently.

"I'm sure the twins also have their insecurities, that's why they are lost in their revenge against Tony. But they'll wake up eventually, like you did. Maybe sooner than you think," she declared.

"Well I hope so because I don't want another nightmare in my head," groaned Steve.

* * *

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is." stated Maria through the screen after Stark called her. "There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

"Stark Relief Foundation ?" her boss asked.

"Already on the scene. How's the team ?"

"Everyone's...we took a hit," he hesitated. "We'll shake it off."

After a short silence, Alice heard Hill sigh. "Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode. And stay away from here."

"So run and hide," murmured Tony.

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."

"Neither do we..."

Stark turned off the screen and went to Clint. "Hey you wanna switch out ?"

"No I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's good time, cause there's still a few hours out."

"Are we going somewhere ?" asked Alice.

"A safe house."

* * *

Alice couldn't sleep. Natasha went back to nap a little, Tony and Steve following her example. Thor was still reflecting on his dream.

"Alice ?" Banner called out weakly. She got up to sit next to him. He had bloodshot eyes. "Clint said you put Natasha to sleep earlier. She told me that it kept her from dreaming." Alice nodded. "Can you do that ? I mean like a sleeping drug ?"

She chuckled. "Yes I can do that. Do you want me to that for you ? It will be a dreamless sleep. Your nightmares won't haunt you there." He accepted. "Come lay down a little. You need to rest your body too. You took more than a few punches."

She was going to touch his head when he asked, "Did she messed your head ?"

"No, I didn't let her. You are not the only who cannot lose control of yourself," her eyes looked distant. "I took action before she touched me."

"What did you do ?"

She smirked at him. "I touched her first."

"You...killed her ?"

"No. You must understand that I don't want to kill. Especially those types of people. The twins...they are lost. Just like you are right now. I'm not saying what they did has to be forgiven. I'm just saying that sometimes, people make the wrong choices. In their heart, they are the heroes, the good guys. But they are blind to what they are really facing. They think they are fighting for a good cause, but that illusion will soon wear off. At that moment, they'll have a second chance, a new opportunity to make the better choice. Not everything is as black and white as we wish them to be."

Bruce wondered if she too made a wrong choice at some point in her life. But she was right. It was just really hard to accept. "I almost destroyed an entire city... What does that say about me..."

"It wasn't on your call, you know it. Your nightmare controlled you. There was nothing you could have done to stop it alone."

He stayed silent until he asked, "So you wounded her ? The witch I mean."

"No, I did what I'll be doing to you."

He lifted his eyebrow, not understanding. She smiled. "I put her to sleep." With that she touched his forehead, and Bruce fell asleep right away. She moved to another seat to give him space.

At that moment, Natasha joined her. "Thank you...for what you did for me... and Bruce."

"I was always told that a dreamless sleep was a good way to recovery. In this situation it's true more than ever."

After a comfortable silence, the red headed woman deeply sighed. "I'm sorry you got hurt. Maybe it's selfish to say that but...I'm glad you came nonetheless."

Alice beamed at her. "I'm glad I came. I may have gotten hurt, but I feel that with you guys I have finally found a place to fit. And that's really hard to find, especially for someone like me."

Natasha applied some disinfectant on her temple, where she was knocked on when she met the twins. "Why don't you heal yourself ?"

"I prefer small wounds to heal on their own. If I always heal myself, my body wouldn't become more resilient, and my immune system would be weak. Also, using my powers for every little things stands in the way of my beliefs." Natasha nodded.

After a while, Alice spoke again, "You know, I feel responsible for what happened to Dr Banner. I wish I could have prevent the event. I was supposed to be the back up. I screwed up."

Natasha stared at her, before she put a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "You did help him. Sometimes you can't stop things from happening. You are wise but I also forget that you never went on a mission, especially a mission of this scale. You did help him after, and you tried to help him before. That counts a lot for him, I know it. And you are a great asset to this team. Everyone thinks so."

Alice smiled gratefully. "Thank you, your words mean a lot to me." She then smirked. "You seem to be really close to Dr Banner."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "We are friends."

"Right..."Alice trailed off sarcastically. "I'm sure that there is nothing more than friendship, with this weird tension between you, the link you share and the lullaby only you can do to calm his other personality..."

Natasha frowned. "You met both of us together at the party. How come in that small amount of time you could gather all that ?"

"I'm a great observant," Alice winked. Natasha laughed, not denying her link to Bruce.

"Sorry to interrupt guys but we are arriving," Clint informed.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

They landed in the early morning. In the middle of a huge meadow was a farm. There was nothing else around. They slowly walked toward the house, still badly shaken up after the previous events. When they came in, Clint shouted "Honey ! I'm home !"

In the lounge, they met with a lovely and extremely pregnant woman. "Company. Sorry I didn't called ahead," he apologized, kissing her.

Everyone stood awkwardly, except Natasha. Alice assumed she was the only one aware of his situation.

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony said, trying to assess the scene. Thor glared at him.

Clint turned around and introduces the mysterious woman. "Everyone, this is Laura."

"Hey ! I know all your names. Except for you maybe," Laura smiled to Alice.

"Oh hum I'm Dr Alice Hart, nice to meet you. I'm new."

"Nice to meet you too."

Tony waved stiffly. Rapid footsteps came closer. "Ohhhh incoming !" Clint exclaimed delightedly. Two children, a boy and a younger girl dashed for him. "Dad !"

He embraced them, oblivious to the astonishment of the whole team, except Natasha, who hugged them too. They named her "auntie Nat".

"These are...smaller agents..." trailed off Tony.

Steve, always well-mannered, spoke up. "Sorry for barging in on you."

"Yes, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea you existed," Tony added.

"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined," explained Clint. "He kept it off SHIELD's files, I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low."

Awkward as the others, Alice stood up, staring at her hands like they were the most interesting things in the world. When she stopped zoning out, Thor seemed to have gone. She caught up with Steve who were strolling outside.

"Hey Steve !" she called out. "Where is Thor ?"

"He needs to go someplace that will help him find the answers to his dream."

She nodded remembering his intuition he had shared with her on the plane. "I hope he finds them soon."

"Me too..."

Sensing his need to be alone, she retreated to the house, not fully knowing what she could do.

She sat in the couch, trying to calm her growing headache. She closed her eyes, trying to process everything that happened since the night she met the avengers in that subway and then at the party. She had grown attached to the team, even if she only met them recently. She believed in what they were fighting for. They just sometimes needed a little push.

* * *

When she woke up, it was nighttime. She was laid down with a blanket on her. Groggily, she tried to get up. She was never a good sight after waking up. She was happy with her skinny jeans, sweater and sneakers because it was chilly. She looked for the bathroom. There were a few towels and clothes for those who wanted to change. After a long well deserved shower, she took some cleaned underwear, tee-shirt and sweater. She put back on her jeans ans sneakers. Letting down her hair to dry it, she went to the kitchen. On the way she met Laura.

"Hi there again ! Slept well ? I put the blanket on you since it's cold here."

Alice felt a warm feeling around this woman. She was the ideal mother, the one everyone wants to have. Her own mother wasn't what we call motherly. Her mentor didn't lavish any motherly feelings on her neither. He was more like a fatherly figure for her.

"Thank you very much, for the clothes too. Next time I'll bring them back your clothes cleaned and..."

"Don't worry dear, I'm glad you took them," Laura cut in. "You look young to be on this team."

"Oh I'm just offering my help, I'm more like a consultant. For this mission anyway."

"You said you were a doctor ?"

"Yeah, in bioengineering. I also like to study chemistry in my spare time."

"You are a really smart woman. I hope my children will do something they're passionate about too later."

"I hope so too. If they want an internship someday maybe I can arrange that," Alice winked.

They continued to chat pleasantly when a tall man approached them. He had black skin, was bald and wore a black eye patch on his left eye. Laura kindly left them alone.

"Hello, I'm Nick Fury. I used to be the director of SHIELD before it was dismantled."

Alice knew it wasn't truly dismantled, but kept quiet.

"Hill and Stark told me about you and your abilities. I hope you don't mind that I'm aware of them."

"I'm not surprised you were informed. And after seeing what you did for Clint, I think I can trust you. And I knew anyway that by telling the team what I could do, others would know too."

He nodded, satisfied by her answer. "I'm glad you can help them. Sometimes a fresh mind is what we need. You're young but I heard that's not stopping you from accomplishing great things." Alice blushed a little at the compliment. Most people stopped at the fact that she young.

"If you can have their back, then I trust you. I believe you can accomplish even more with them. Now come, we have a team meeting about to start." With that, he went to the kitchen, shortly followed by her, where the others sat. Natasha gave her plate of food, insisting that she needed to gather energy.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something," announced Fury. "The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

"What about Ultron himself ?" Steve asked.

"Ah ! He's easy to track, he's everywhere. The guy's multiplying faster than a catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though."

"He's going after launch codes ?" Tony asked.

"Yes he is. But he's not making any headway," the ex-director answered, making himself a sandwich. "I contacted our friends at the NEXUS."

"The Nexus ?" Alice wondered out loud.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo," Banner explained. "Every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth."

"So what they say ?" Clint intervened, throwing darts like no big deal.

"He fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed."

"By whom ?" Tony asked, jumping when a dart skimmed past his face and stuck in the wall next to him. Clint playfully shrugged at him.

"Parties unknown. Seems like Ultron's got another enemy."

"I was kinda hoping you would have more for us when I saw you boss," Natasha said with disappointment.

"Oh but I have you. Here we are all, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand," he looked at all of them. "Outwit the platinum bastard." A short silence followed his words.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk," Natasha jokingly patronized. Arms crossed, Steve glared at her, "You know what Romanoff ?"

Alice laughed, glad they were feeling a little better. Fury seemed to have given the push they needed. She had to admit, she admired the man. "So what does he want ?" she asked.

"To become better than us. He keeps building bodies." Steve replied.

Banner seemed thoughtful, looking intently at a butterfly drawing made by one of Barton's kids. "People don't need to be protected... They need to evolve...Ultron's going to evolve."

"How ?"

That's when Alice understood. "Oh my god Dr Cho !"

Bruce nodded. "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho ?"

Everyone shook their heads. "He wants her to build him a body, more resilient, and more...human shaped-like." Alice clarified. "With the cradle, and the vibranium as material, he'll have an invincible body. That's why he didn't kill her on the tower, that's why he hesitated." Understanding lighted up in everyone's eyes as they all got up, getting ready.

"Hart, Romanoff and Barton, come with me. We're going to Dr Cho's lab," Steve announced. "Banner is going to the tower with Fury, while Stark goes to the NEXUS to find out who is our ally."

"I'm coming with you ?" Alice asked, puzzled.

"I need your powers on the ground to protect the bystanders. You know how to drive ? Better yet, do you know how to drive fast ?"

"Actually yes, I can. Someone taught me." Her mentor was a fan of mechanics and car races. He had a motocross he upgraded himself to make it go super fast. She learned how to drive it, to master the speed driving. He always told her that with her powers, she had to love speed. She remembered a time though when she almost fell off a cliff because of it. She was nostalgic thinking about it.

After saying their goodbyes, they ran to the plane. They had a few hours before getting to Seoul, where Helen's lab was, but it felt like forever for Alice, who were worried for her friend.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Steve and Alice found Helen in her lab, seriously wounded.

"Dr Cho !" Alice promptly knelt next to her, calling her energy and touching the bloody area.

While Alice healed her, Helen explained the situation to them. "He's uploading himself into the body."

"Where ?" Steve was getting up, looking for any signs of Ultron. But Helen pulled him down desperately. "The real power is inside the cradle. The gem...it's power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the cradle to Stark."

"First we have to find it," Alice reminded them as she completely restored the skin. Both her and Steve headed out.

"Did you guys copy that ?" Steve radioed the rest of the team.

"We did," Hawkeye confirmed. "I found a truck from the lab on the road. Right above you cap. On the loop by the bridge. I'm sending you his GPS movements."

"We need to draw out Ultron" Steve announced. As he climbed up the bridge, Alice took the motorbike Clint lent to her and drove to where the GPS pointed to. She saw Steve jump on the truck as she arrived progressively near the target.

He struggled, holding the back door of the truck, which Ultron had blasted and was now dragged on the road. She used her power to slow down the car thrown away, and all the ones surrounding in the area, to prevent serious damages.

"Well he's definitely unhappy, and I'm gonna try and keep it that way." She heard Steve on the radio.

"You're no match for him, Cap," Clint warned him.

"Thanks Barton..." the captain rumbled. He got back on the truck, Ultron following after him.

Every time Alice could she would slow down the blasts and the cars speed. Ultron noticed her and tried to shoot her, but she dodged it by freezing it on its way. They continued on and on, until Cap dropped his shield, giving the opportunity to Ultron to grip his throat.

She heard Natasha arriving by motorbike. To save time, Hart concentrated on decelerating the truck. It was hard to use her powers on multiple targets so she had to be extra careful. The truck was beginning to lose speed when Natasha arrived, throwing the shield to the captain.

Ultron blasted a portion of the road, almost sending Alice to her grave. She couldn't hold back the truck any longer, her concentration was broken. Natasha also seemed to have dodged it as she went into a short cut.

Alice was busy saving the bystanders as Ultron continued to destroy the road. She reversed the road back to it's original state at multiple times, and contained the explosions whenever possible.

The rush of adrenaline gave her an inexhaustible power energy. Deep down, she knew the after wave would take a toll on her.

Natasha attempted to retrieve the body inside the truck. At the same time Steve was thrown down on the road, dodging the cars flying above him. Alice slowed their "flying", protecting the people inside and Steve. She passed by him to allow him to jump on her backseat. Approaching the truck again, he leaped over to it. He and Ultron brutally fought again until they plunged into a train wagon passing next the road.

Stopping time around people could serve as a shield, since nothing could enter the frozen area. She did so around the people inside the wagon. They could move but the air around them was frozen, creating said shields. She kept this on until they evacuated to other wagons. Meanwhile, she kept driving and containing the detonations outside.

"When it's over, I'm going to Hawaii or on some paradise-like beach," the young woman mumbled bitterly.

She followed Natasha who was still in the truck. Two robots held the load and flew off with it, Natasha still inside, leaving the rest of the truck charging at the policemen stationed in front of it.

"Damn it !" Alice braked her motorbike, cursing profusely, and struck the truck's wheels and motor with her powers. The speed decreased until the truck gently stopped a meter away from the policemen.

Wiping her forehead, she drove again to where Steve's location was. She hoped Natasha would succeed. She found the train Steve was on. Fast driving next to it, she saw Ultron flying away, not before blasting the driver's cab. The train was still at full speed and kept going past the rails dead end and into the street. She saw a blue blur catching the civilians in the way and bringing them safely to the side.

She smiled, knowing exactly who it was. Finally they were getting some sense into them. She helped the twin brother by throwing time shields in front of everyone she could. She contained the accidents and the flying debris. A car with a woman inside was on the train's path. She accelerated its wheels to make it move just in time.

Alice then saw a red glow under the train. Comprehending, she joined her powers to Wanda's and tried to disintegrate the concrete under the train to add more friction to slow its speed.

Her abilities also allowed her to accelerate the doings of time on objects and materials, turning them to dust. It was still an act that drained a lot of energy. She never tried on people though, feeling it went against her instincts.

Finally, the train slowly stopped. The civilians, shaken up, still helped each other getting off the train. Alice had let go of her vehicle and leaned against it to take deep breaths. That was truly a long time she hadn't use her abilities to such extant... She felt a little rusty. Her endurance wasn't the way it used to be.

"Alice !" She saw Steve rushing to her. A few feet away, she saw the twins, who where also trying to catch a breath. "Alice are you okay ?"

"Yeah I'm fine..."

The twins came closer. Steve was still looking worryingly at her. Pietro Maximoff stared at her. "Your nose is bleeding." She grimaced as she reached her nose. Yeah...definitely rusty.

"It happens, don't mind it."

"We need to go to Stark. He's not answering, no one is. We think he might do the wrong move on the cradle," Steve informed her.

"You mean as he did with his little Ultron experiment ?"

"Exactly," confirmed Wanda. Alice nodded. "What about Natasha and Clint ?"

"Clint is at the tower. But we think that Ultron kidnapped Romanoff," Steve answered.

Alice frowned, worried about her friend. "How do we get there ?"

"I saw a jet at Dr Cho's lab. We're gonna take it."

She went to take back the motorbike. "How do you plan to go to her lab ? We're four. And I don't think Speedy should use too much power straightaway."

Pietro smirked, assenting nonetheless. He was too damn tired. But he had an idea. He suddenly disappeared, then came back on another bike, which he probably stole. "Bet you didn't see that coming."

He drove with his sister behind him as Steve was behind Alice. They arrived near the jet, Helen already waiting for them. "How did you..." Steve began.

"Alice texted me. The pilot is waiting for you." She then hugged Alice, making her promise to be careful and tell her about everything afterward.

They all got in the jet, collapsing on the seats as they took off. Steve was still trying to call the rest of the team but there was no response.

Alice looked at the sky, feeling herself dozing off. She was woken up by Wanda, who looked like she wanted a talk. Alice groggily sat straighter.

"My brother told me what you told him when we fought that time. You know, after what you did to me he wanted to kill you."

"What about you ?"

"You didn't kill me... I didn't even suffer. And with your powers, I know you are perfectly able to. But you just put me to sleep. You didn't even do it on him, and from what I know, you had the window to do it."

Alice sighed, tiredly running a hand through her hair. "Let me tell you something, something I seem to repeat often recently. I don't kill. At least not when I can. I knew you would eventually learn the truth about Ultron, that you would wake up. You see, I'm good at reading people. And you and your brother are smart. At that time, you were just blinded by your idea of revenge. Ultron took advantage of that. Even if it was in a twisted way, you just wanted to do what you thought was right."

"How could you be so sure ?"

"I just was. You know, you're not the only ones who mistake justice for revenge. It happens a lot, people who do the wrong moves, meet the wrong persons, make bad choices. So don't worry about that. Everyone makes mistakes. What counts is how you learn from them." After a few seconds she added, smirking, "But I won't apologize for the punches though, you still deserved it."

Wanda chuckled and went back next to her brother. They talked, probably about their discussion. Alice dozed off again, tired as hell.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Someone gently shook Alice. She was tempted to shrug it off. But she remembered something about saving the world that couldn't wait, so she forced herself to wake up. Her eyes opened with difficulty, revealing Pietro.

"Please tell me you didn't wake me to talk too, because I could kill you in an instant and go back peacefully to sleep as if nothing happened."

He chuckled. "No, Captain said we are arriving in New York." She looked around to see Steve discussing with Wanda. "I feel like I could sleep for a whole week," she groaned.

"Me too... When it's all finished, maybe we could take a nap together," he winked at her.

She rolled her eyes. "You're the type of person who finds entertainment and humor in every situation right ?"

"You got me !"

The jet landed on the tower. The four of them hurried to Stark's lab. Him and Bruce were already uploading the data inside the artificial body.

"I'm gonna say this once..." Steve warned them.

"How about nonce," Tony retaliated.

"Shut it down ! You don't know what you're doing !"

"And you do ?" Banner asked. "She's not in your head ?"

"I know you're angry," Wanda intervened.

"Oh we're very past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade," Bruce coldly threatened her.

They all began to argue, not listening to each other. Alice saw Pietro sighing, and then he was near the power source, unplugging the cradle. He looked at them mockingly, as they stared at him astonished. "No no, go on. You were saying ?"

Suddenly a bullet pierced the floor under him, the glass collapsing downstairs with Pietro.

Wanda and Alice went to the hole to see Clint pinning Pietro. "What ? You didn't see that coming ?"

"Clint wait ! They're not the bad guys !" Alice related him.

He looked at her, confused. "They're not ? How do I know she's not controlling you."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You know deep down that I'm right. Also, if it was true, she would try to control you right now since you are bullying her brother." He hesitated, slowly releasing the twin brother.

Behind the girls, the trio's argument had somehow turned into a physical clash. Cap's shield was bouncing everywhere and almost knocked Alice out if Wanda hadn't push her to the side. The time controller was exasperate at the scene unfolding in front of her.

At that moment, Thor arrived and jumped like a tornado on the cradle. With his hammer, he hit the cradle with thunder. It exploded, blowing them down.

Everyone was on the ground. Pietro had managed to catch his sister on time. Unfortunately for Alice, she fell on shards of glass, a big one had impaled her right arm. Wincing, she saw a figure on the cradle. It was the body. It looked like a man, but was not human. More like an android. He was all red with a few golden areas. He looked like Tony's suit.

He watched everyone, then swiftly jumped on Thor, who threw him away in the hall next to the lab. The strange man stopped himself from going through the picture window by flying. He then observed the view quietly.

They were all ready to fight. But Thor stopped Steve from moving forward. Alice couldn't help but sense that the man was just disoriented. She made no move to attack him.

Thor put down his hammer as everyone joined them in the hall. The stranger turned to Thor and calmly thanked him.

"Thor did you help create this thing ?" Steve asked.

"I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at it's center is that," Thor said pointing at the gem on the man's forehead. "It's the mind stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities. Stark is right."

Bruce gaped. "Ohhh it's definitely the end of times."

Thor ignored him. "The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

"Not alone," the android added.

"Why does your vision sound like Jarvis ?" Steve asked. Jarvis was the program voice that she heard the first time she came to the tower, Alice remembered. She was told that he had been "killed" by Ultron.

"We reconfigured Jarvis matrix to create something new. Jarvis was actually the one changing the launching codes. He managed to hide in time before Ultron absorbed him." Tony explained.

"I think I've had my fill on new..."

Vision paced composedly in the room, examining them. "You think I'm a child of Ultron ?"

"You're not ?"

"I'm not Ultron, I'm not Jarvis. I am...I am."

"I looked in your head and saw annihilation," Wanda reminded him.

"Look again," he offered her.

Clint shook his head. "Her seal of approval means jack to me."

"The stone gave power to Ultron," Thor informed them. "We can't fight him alone. But with him on our side..."

"Is it ?" Steve cut in. "Are you on are side ?" he questioned Vision.

"I am on the side of life, Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for ?" Tony asked.

"You. He hates you the most."

"Where ?"

"Sokovia," Clint answered them. "He's got Nat there too."

"How can we trust you ?" Bruce asked Vision.

"I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique. And he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he built, every trace of his presence on the net, we have to act now. And not one of us can't do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are. And not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me." He took Thor's hammer and gave it back to its owner. "But we need to go."

All of them watched, astonished, as the hammer was handed back to Thor. Alice chuckled slightly at their faces, but grimaced shortly when it woke her pain. Steve turned to everyone. "Three minutes. Take what you need."

Alice went to the locker room, where there were weapons stored. She changed her sweater for a more resilient one Stark had in stock, and held her hair back in a ponytail. When the twins entered, she was rolling up her sleeves. Pietro put on some sneakers and another sweater made for fighting too, while Wanda put her red jacket on.

"What are you doing ?" Pietro asked when he saw Alice.

"Just healing myself. I was the lucky one who fell on the shards."

The cut disappeared under the eyes of the twins. "That's handy," he praised.

"You bet," she grinned. With that, they all went back to the plane, ready to go to Sokovia.

Ready to go to battle.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Steve was standing in front of them, debriefing them. The plane was landing as he spoke.

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are, we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live they lives in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. We can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. Keep the fight between us."

A heavy silence followed his speech, each one recalling what they were fighting for, who they were fighting for. They had a duty. A duty to protect the innocents.

Once on the ground, everyone went to fulfill their part. Alice, Clint, Steve, Wanda and Pietro split up to evacuate the people. Thor and Vision went to find what Ultron had been building while Bruce went to search for Natasha. Tony went to find Ultron himself, since he was the one he'd been waiting for.

Alice went into every building to urge the residents to flee. Tony had managed to warn the police and the government with his hacking talent, so they could warn their citizens through the media and help them.

As people were still evacuating, robots controlled by Ultron appeared from every parts of the city, attacking everyone. It was chaos. Panic was all over. Alice prepared herself for battle. She rarely used all her powers. But this time she would have to make an exception. "Time can ravage anything, even robots," she thought darkly. A robot was about to shoot her. She stopped the bullet, and with small hand gesture, she controlled the time of the robot. She stopped it and it disintegrated. It was more easy to touch the object to do so but she would have to deal with it. She repeated the same process over and over, also containing explosions and blasts.

She saw a man shot by a robot. Darting toward, she pulverized it and knelt next to the man. She quickly healed him. "Go ! Hurry out of town !" He nodded, grateful, and took off. A child was weeping near her. She went to the boy and held him, looking for the mother. She found her near, her leg stuck under piece of rock. Alice shattered it and healed the woman's leg before handing her the child before they fled. But as she got up, she didn't see a suit aiming at her. A blue blur lifted her away, just as she made the robot disappear. Pietro was smiling wickedly.

"Hey there, be careful. Don't forget you and I need to take a nap together when this all is over."

She laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. Now I really owe you that nap."

He winked at her before disappearing.

She continued her rescue mission when suddenly the ground trembled and moved, creating rifts.

"His machine is making the center part of the city go skyward !" Thor screamed by radio.

"He needs to make the city crash to boost his machine and make everything explode. The more it goes up the better. He's planning a genocide !" Tony informed the team.

"Damn it !" cursed Alice. She was on the part that was going up. She went to help the people that fell.

Ultron spoke through his robots. "Do you see ? The beauty of it. The inevitability. You rise only to fall. You, Avengers, are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword, and the earth will crack under the weight of your failure. Purge me from my computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

"Thanks but no thanks !" she shouted as she turned a few robots to dust. When she saw that no one else was going to jump or fall, she ran back to the center, making enemies disappear on her way.

She saw Clint, shooting arrows everywhere. She helped him making one suit he didn't see go away.

"Hart ! It's nice to discover a new power about you every time we fight," he joked, still shooting.

"Well, I didn't know I was going to use it. It's a dangerous one."

"I can see that."

They fought side by side, when they heard Cap's voice. "Stark you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us, we have one job : tear this things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off."

Wanda helped Clint finish the area while Alice ran to Steve's position. The area was filled with foes. She disintegrated one after another.

"Glad you came 'cause I'm quite busy here..."

The rest of the team arrived later to help them. When Alice saw Natasha join them, she was truly relieved. She wasn't hurt. "Natasha ! It's good to see you !" she called out while shattering a assailant. She noticed a green figure on a building a little further.

"Yeah I couldn't miss the party, could I ?"

In the turmoil, they heard Stark's voice in the radio. "I think we'll have to blow the city... The radius impact of the vibranium core is growing more wide as the city flies higher," he announced. The news left them shaken up. That meant they had to make the hard choice. The worst when it came to work in this field, Alice realized, was to accept that not everybody can always be saved.

Steve had moved to a border with Natasha. "Not until we clear every civilian off this rock," he firmly ordered.

"Steve... We don't have a choice. Its people of this rock against the rest of the world. No need to do the maths here," Natasha sadly told him.

Just then, a huge flying heliport arrived at the border of the rock, sending big flying "lifeboats" for evacuation.

"An old friend helped me get this back. She's dusty but..she'll do." Fury said to them through the comm.

"Fury you son of a bitch !" Steve excitedly exclaimed.

"Ooho ! You kiss your mother with that mouth ?"

Alice ran closer with Pietro. "Is this SHIELD ?"

"This is how SHIELD is supposed to be," Steve solemnly answered.

Pietro grinned. "This is not so bad."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

They began to organize the evacuation and guided the people toward the lifeboats. They needed to hurry as time rapidly ran out. Alice went back to work and continued to destroy the robots while taking people to safety. The local police helped too, making it less complicated.

On Tony's call, the Avengers ran to meet him where Ultron's drill was. Alice used a motorbike and her ability to increased its speed. She stopped to get Natasha on the way. They arrived at the meeting point, where the strange machine stood at the center of a collapsed church. It was firmly stuck on the ground, and they couldn't destroy it yet while there were still people in the city. Tony had an idea to turn down the machine but first they needed to prevent anyone from coming near.

"If Ultron gets a hand on the core of the machine, we lose," Vision warned them.

Their foe arrived flying alone to face them. "Is that the best you can do ?!" Thor shouted angrily at him. On this, Ultron's robot army assembled, surrounding them. "You had to ask..." Steve sighed.

"This is the best I can do," Ultron retaliated. "This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me ?"

"Like the old man said : together," Tony replied.

And together they fought. Alice stopped counting how many robots she turned to dust. But that was quite a lot. Each time one disappeared, another one made its way to her, making her repeat the cycle over again. They were so many of them she thought bitterly. Angry by the minute, her attacks were depleting, erasing the enemies existence every second. The others battled well too. Each member of the team excelled at what he or she did. So that was team work thought Alice, "it wasn't so bad", as Pietro would say. Together they progressively pushed off the attacks. Vision, Tony and Thor then blasted everything they could at Ultron, making a part of his suit melt. Before he could utter a word, Hulk threw him kilometers away.

"We need to hurry and finish the evacuation before we destroy the rock."

"What about the core ?"

"I'll protect it" Wanda declared. They all nodded and went to finish their job. Her brother didn't seem to take her words well though. They quietly argued before he finally joined them.

Alice searched for any other civilians, gathered them together and brought them to the last boat. As it was almost loaded, she saw Clint getting out of it to hurry and rescue a lost boy.

Suddenly she heard something flying above them. Ultron arrived near them by a small plane. What happened then went so fast. He aimed a burst of machine-gun fire at their area, including where Clint was. She noticed Pietro darting and jumping in front of them. Screaming, she ran and used her power, but was only able to stop the bullets going at his head.

"You didn't see that coming," he smirked weakly before dropping on the ground. Barton, shocked, immediately tried to tend to him and check his pulse.

Tearful, Alice ran to kneel beside him. She knew she had a few seconds before he died. She could sense it. He had a lot of bullets in his torso. She had to disintegrate them before healing him. This was going to be very difficult. She felt his heart slowing down by the second, but if she accelerated it, she could poison his blood and increase his hemorrhages.

Closing her eyes, she aimed her power at the bullets. Everything around her seemed to disappear as she concentrated harder. She felt them disappear one by one, until they were no more. Now she had to close his wounds.

"Can you help him ?!"

She ignored Clint. She couldn't talk or think about anything else. The human anatomy was complex and there was a lot of things to think about and things that could go wrong. Destroying was far more easy. Breathing calmly, she accelerated the cells reparation in his torso. His own speeding organism was helping her. His body was repaired but she could not feel his heart beating anymore. Touching his torso, she had to act fast. His brain had to receive oxygen soon or there would be permanent effects. She had to accelerate his heartbeat but there had to be one first. She snapped her eyes open.

"I need Thor ! Quickly !" Her plea was heard as he appeared beside her, deeply concerned.

"What can I do ?"

"You need to strike him with your thunder."

"But that will kill him !" Clint loudly protested.

"He's already dead !" she angrily yelled. "Don't you see ? We don't have time ! I will contain the strike so that it can't damage him too much, and I will heal him after either way. Do it now, or I won't be able to bring him back !"

The god of thunder lifted his hammer and did as she ordered him. Once it struck Pietro, she froze his entire body except the heart. She only let a moderate amount of electricity pass though, or it would burn the heart. "Come on...Come on !" she pleaded. Then she heard it : a faint heartbeat. She took her chance and tried to accelerate it to around 40 beats per minute. It wasn't enough but still better than before, as he was now breathing. Her energy gently flowed in his entire body, repairing all the injuries, and progressively increasing his heart rate again. She also treated the brain damages from the brief lack of oxygen. Opening her eyes, she was short on breath, her body feeling numb from the relief.

"He's alive. He made it. You must take him to the medics." Clint didn't need any more words. He immediately carried him on the lifeboat.

Alice sat still. She was feeling weak and an unexpected pain in her shoulder and her side. "Alice !" Steve ran to her. "What are you still doing here ? You have to go to the lifeboat ! Stark is going to destroy Ultron's device." She got up unsteadily. The after effects were making their way to her. She used too much power, and she seemed to have taken a few bullets as well.

"Alice you're really pale..." He blanched he saw a crimson liquid flowing from her side. "You're bleeding ! You were shot !" He lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the boat. Alice didn't have the strength to protest. She was feeling more and more light headed.

Everybody seemed to have evacuated because the lifeboat took off, and she faintly saw the flying city explode. She wanted to ask Steve but she couldn't make a sound. His mouth was moving as he looked at her, worry written all over his face, but she couldn't hear anything. Her senses were rapidly leaving her.

She passed out for a few minutes because when she opened her eyes, the captain rushed to the medics on the heliport. She noticed Pietro laid on a gurney. Vision arrived and put down Wanda near her brother. She gripped his hand, crying, as Alice was also put down on a gurney.

She looked one last time at the one she saved. Just before the darkness drowned her, she saw him slightly opening his eyes.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Pietro woke up to his sister crying, clenching his hand like her life depended on it. The fact that he was alive was hard to believe. He remembered everything. He remembered dying, the agony. But his survival stayed a mystery though.

The sounds were clearer now, he could hear his sister's pleas. "You can't die ! You hear me ?! Don't you die on me !"

He wanted to laugh, but still couldn't. She was always so dramatic. He wanted to reassure her. He squeezed her hand weakly.

"Stay awake ! Don't fall asleep !" It was the captain shouting near them.

Pietro turned his head to see him with Alice, who was unconscious. She was bleeding and the doctors were all surrounding her. "She needs surgery. Her organs are failing ! She lost a lot of blood ! She needs a blood transfusion right away."

The captain, distressed, reluctantly let them.

Pietro frowned. He didn't understand what was happening. Everything was so fuzzy, he had a hard time concentrating.

* * *

When he woke up again, Pietro was in a hospital bed. His sister was reading on a chair next to him. He didn't feel that bad, which puzzled him.

Wanda immediately rushed to her brother, hugging the life out of him. "I felt your death, during the battle ! Your heart stopped beating. You died !" She was shaking from the memories. "I almost lost you ! I was ready to die out there, ready to join you. I even teared Ultron's core out. I was so desperate... If Vision hadn't come get me..."

He pulled back, staring at her. "I'm here now, I'm not going anywhere. We're together again, that's what only matters."

She nodded, embracing him again. "I was so scared... If Alice weren't there, you would have remained dead."

He pulled back again, confused. "What ?"

"She brought you back Pietro. I don't know how exactly but Clint told me that she saved your life. Without her powers no one would have been able to help you."

"Where is she now ?" His sister stayed silent, lowering her head. "Wanda !"

"She's not in a good state. She went through surgery, they're still waiting for her to wake up."

"What !? How long has it been ? Why did she need to be operated on ?"

"It's been a day. When Ultron blasted you all with bullets, it seems she was also hit. And between the battle and everything, she used a lot of energy. That's why her body is having difficulty to recover from the damages."

Pietro stayed silent, recalling what he saw before he passed out. She was unconscious and the doctors sounded really concerned.

Clint Barton entered the room frowning. But when he saw Pietro, he smiled brightly. "Hey kid ! You're awake ! We were worried you know."

Pietro smirked. "I knew you were gonna miss me."

Clint laughed. "Well you saved a lot of people's lives out there, including mine and a little boy's. I can't thank you enough for what you did."

"I can't help it I'm so fast. I wouldn't want your old and slow carcass to rot away," he joked.

"Well looks like you're all well now. I was afraid you had lost that great sense of humor of yours," Clint mumbled sarcastically.

"Do you have any news from Alice ?"

Clint's face darkened. "She hasn't awaken yet. They finished the surgery but her health isn't improving, in fact it's the contrary."

At this moment, they saw movements in the corridor, with nurses and doctors running to a room. Clint followed them, panicking. Pietro and Wanda went after him. A group of people were anxiously waiting in front the room. The twins recognized the red headed assassin, Natasha, Steve, Thor and Stark. In the millionaire's arms was a sobbing woman with red hair, who they assumed was his girlfriend.

"What's happening ?" Barton urged them.

"We don't know..." Natasha answered.

When the doctor came out half an hour later, they all stood up abruptly.

"She suffered from heart failure. Her vitals are not good. We managed to keep her alive, but that won't last for long. Her oxygen level is rapidly decreasing. Her organs are suffering from a lack of oxygen, they are shutting down. Even if the heart is still beating, it's useless when it can't bring enough oxygen."

"What can you do then ?" Steve asked.

"She lost too much blood and for some unknown reason, her body rejects the blood we transfused. You told me she had special abilities, that might be why. We can't do anything. But nevertheless if we let her like this, she will suffer from brain death."

"There is nothing you can do ?! You are a doctor ! You're supposed to know those things !" Pietro yelled furiously. His sister gently calmed him down.

"I am truly sorry. But I still must ask you. Does she have any family we can contact ? She's in a coma, but her vitals are still going down. She's going to die. There is nothing else we can do but to switch off her life support."

Tony's girlfriend, Pepper, cried harder, not believing his words. "You can't do that ! That's the only thing keeping her alive !"

"The life support machine is useless now, it's not helping anymore", the doctor explained. "I am deeply sorry."

"What about thunder ? I can make her heart beat faster with it ! We did it to the fast boy and it worked." Thor suggested.

"No it won't," Tony gloomily replied. "She could heal him and control the electric current with her powers at the time. Doing it without her would kill her."

"She doesn't have any family..." Pepper murmured. "She always lived alone. We are her only family now for her."

Pietro felt his heart breaking. He owned her his life, but she would die before he could make it even, before he could thank her.

"I know this is a hard time... But there is no choice now. It would be aggressive medical treatment," the doctor sadly told them. "You can come in if you want."

They all entered the tiny room. Alice was pale, as if she was already dead. A lot of tubes were linked to her, but seemed to be of no use. The doctor went to the life support machine. They waited, frozen, as he turned it off.

"Her heart will still be beating but it will soon stop," he quietly informed them before leaving. Her heart monitor showed a slow heart rate.

They all stayed for a while, completely devastated, until they left as it was to painful to watch. Pepper wanted to stay but Tony convinced her to go home, since the doctor would call them if there was any change.

Pietro was the last one. He softly took her hand and whispered, "Don't die. You still owe me that nap."

He came back to his room with his sister, dreading the news they would have the next day.

* * *

He woke up, feeling a little sore. It was early but he wanted to take a walk, to clear off his mind. He went to Alice's room. But he saw something unexpected : the bed was empty.

He urgently ran down the hall to warn the staff, but then, standing in front of the vending machine, he found her.

She was in her hospital gown, and pensively searched for something to buy, as if nothing ever happened. He stared at her wide eyed.

She finally noticed him and beamed. "Speedy ! Glad you're all better ! Sorry I was just so hungry, I couldn't wait anymore. Do you want anything ? It's on me."


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Alice's life was wearing thin. Her mind was floating into nothingness. But she knew better. She remembered her mentor saying it once.

"Sometimes you need to shut down a device to make it work again. It also can be true with the human body. It's especially true with yours. When your body has taken too much, it will shut down. At the breaking point, you'll be able to use your abilities. They're part of your instincts. And your instincts first job is to keep you alive. Remember that."

Floating further away, she felt it. A small amount energy resurfaced, not much, but just enough to begin the work. Her survival instincts kicked in and her time energy spread softly in her whole body. It began to repair everything it could on its way. Slowly, she felt herself coming back. Her organs, her heart, were on their way to function normally again. She would still have to rest, but it was working.

Her eyes opened faintly. She was in a hospital. Her first thought was that she craved food. It was stupid considering the situation, but she needed some juice if she wanted to recover properly. It felt like she hadn't fed since a very long time, which was probably true since she had been quite busy. She carefully got up and looked calmly outside. The sun was rising.

She hoped that everything was over, with Ultron dead. She saw the city exploding before fainting but she would have to make sure with the others.

She blindly headed for the empty hall, where she could probably find a vending machine or something. Finding it, her stomach growled in relief. Smiling, she looked for something good, and chose a bar of chocolate and some cookies, using money from the donation jar on the reception desk. She would pay back later.

Sensing a presence, she turned around and saw Pietro, in a hospital gown and a sweatsuit, staring at her wide eyed.

She beamed at him. "Speedy ! Glad you're all better. Sorry I was just so hungry I couldn't wait anymore. Do you want anything ? It's on me."

He didn't reply, and continued to stare at her like she had grown a pair of horns. She came closer.

"Are you okay ? You seem a little out of it. Maybe you should rest before getting up." she advised him.

"That should be my line. You were in a coma. The doctors were convinced you were dying, that it was just a matter of hours."

"But I didn't. I'm all better. That's the thing with my abilities. They sometimes need a push to make wonders." she winked.

He seemed troubled. "You should stay in bed though, remember you were dying ?"

"Yes yes I know, but I'm so hungry. I didn't have time to eat properly this last few days," she joked. When he didn't respond, she examined him worriedly. "What's wrong ? Are you in pain ? Do you want me to help ?"

He blinked rapidly, pulled out from his daze. "No no I'm fine... It's just... I mean you were dead. You saved my life and you were dead..." He had difficulties to fully express his thoughts.

Alice chuckled and cut him in. "You're welcome."

"What ?"

"I think the words you're looking for are "thank you", so you're welcome. Don't worry Speedy. As you can see, I'm pretty much alive and well, as you are. It's a like a happy ending, cheer up !" She smiled warmly at him.

He looked astonished, then suddenly burst out of laughter. "You are really weird !"

She lifted an eyebrow amusedly. "Should I take it as an insult or a praise ?"

He grinned at her. "I think it's a good kind of weird."

They heard footsteps coming closer to them, belonging to Wanda. "You're awake," she stated, shocked, but relieved. Suddenly tearful, she took her hands. "Thank you ! Thank you so much for saving him, you brought him back to me. I can't tell you how much grateful I am to you !"

Alice put a comforting hand on the witch's shoulder. "It's alright now Wanda. In fact, your brother saved me earlier that day. And also, I owe him a nap," she added to Pietro, winking. He smirked at her playfully, knowing exactly what she meant.

They went back to her room, where doctors totally panicked when they hadn't found her in the bed. The rest of the team arrived soon after.

Tony was the first to arrive. He shook her hand, mostly because he wasn't really the hug type of guy. "You worried my girlfriend Alice ! If you didn't wake up, I was going to fire you and kill you myself." She laughed at his falsely dramatic speech. Pepper immediately hugged her tightly. "Don't you dare do that again ! Hear me ? Don't you ever dare to make me go through that again !"

Natasha embraced her too while Clint smiled wildly at her, both relieved to see her well.

"You scared the death out of us. Please don't play martyr," A voice scolded her from the door. She hugged Steve. "Said the guy who drowned with his plane to save the USA, making him sleep for 70 years,"she retaliated at him. He winced jokingly. "Touche."

Natasha told her that Banner had disappeared on his own. She looked depressed about it, and Alice knew exactly why. "He'll reappear again. And then you will kick him where the sun don't shine to punish him." Natasha laughed slightly, knowing this was probably what was gonna happen.

Helen called, planning to come visit her the next week. Pepper also told her that everyone in the lab knew that she had an accident of some kind and was in a hospital. They all wished her a quick recovery, especially Thomas.

Thor also came with a woman. She was short compared to him. She had brown hair and almond eyes. She introduced herself as Dr Jane Foster, presumably his girlfriend.

"Lady Alice ! Your miracle abilities are outstanding I must say. I am sincerely elated to see you are now fine and healthy." She smiled at the god's choice of words.

She was happy to see them all, to feel supported.

The doctors still wanted to keep her. Pietro was free to go but he and his sister came to visit very often. Apparently the twins stayed at the New Avengers Facility in upstate New York. They had agreed to be part of the team.

Pepper came whenever she could, as Natasha and Steve. Clint went back to his family but she received flowers and a card from him and Laura. Maria Hill and Fury also sent her their regards.

Furthermore, she became friends with Dr Foster, who called her a lot, discussing astrophysics and other subjects both women had in common. They promised to schedule a lunch together as soon as Alice could go out.

Helen visited her as promised. Alice told her everything that happened, including the matter of her abilities. She left the second day with regret. They promised each other they would keep contact even if she returned to Seoul.

After a couple weeks, she finally was able to leave. It was Pepper who took her home. She got her cat back and enjoyed the feeling of being at home. She missed all this peace.

She went to see the others a few days later at the new avengers facility. She texted Steve about it.

The building was huge. And so modern. Her eyes were filled with wonder. She went to the reception desk when she was almost knocked out by something. Hands held her, preventing her from falling. Clenching on her fast beating heart, she looked up to see Pietro, smirking down at her.

"If your purpose was to almost give me a heart attack, then congratulations, you succeeded..."

"I would have thought that by now you would see it coming."

"True that !"

"Steve told us you were coming."

"Yep. I think that's my turn to pay you all a visit now. But damn this building is huge, it's great you're here, now you can guide me to the others."

He smiled wickedly, lifted her and suddenly they were at some sort of training gymnasium.

"Wow ! That was fast !"

"Bet you didn't see that coming !"

She glared playfully at him as he put her down.

"Hey Alice ! I see that Pietro found you," Steve called out, Wanda following him.

"So that's were you train to be superheroes ? That's amazing !"

"Glad you like it ! I wanted to ask you before but since you were still recovering..." He trailed off. "Do you want to join the team ? It doesn't have to be a permanent thing for now. I know that you will have to take it easy for a while, but you really helped us last time. Maybe you can come for a few missions at first. It could really work out."

Wanda and Pietro looked at her expectantly. "I think I can do that. It felt great to finally be able to use my abilities for a purpose. But I still have a job..."

Steve laughed. "You can keep your job of course. It would be just fine if you come help us when we need you. You can also come here and practice whenever you want."

She briefly thought about it. If she could continue her research at the same time, she didn't see a reason to refuse. She wanted to be a part of this. Also, she finally had the opportunity to make up for her past. A mean to live up to her mentor's expectations. She still had a long way to go, but this was a beginning.

"I accept," Alice hesitantly said, then shyly added. "I mean, by joining you to fight Ultron, I kinda agreed already. And if I can continue my research, well I can't ask for more."

"What job do you have?" Wanda asked.

"I work at Stark Industries as a bio-engineer. But seems like I'll also be part-time avengers," she smiled. "So I guess you all will have to put up with me for a while."

* * *

After giving her a tour, they said their goodbyes and went back to the training area. Wanda didn't miss the big smile on her brother's face. She also didn't miss it when he turned his head around to watch Alice get in her car.

She smirked. "I'm glad she agreed, we'll be able to see her more." Pietro nodded.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It had been a month since Alice last saw the team. She had been working non-stop on her research and hardly ever had time of her own. She continued to see Pepper and Tony. He was impressed by her data reports and even offered her the possibility to lead her own research unit for new projects the future. She had yet a lot to learn before that.

She kept regular contact with Helen and Jane. Though Helen was far away, Alice went to lunch a few times with Jane, Darcy her assistant, and Dr Erik Selvig. Thor returned on his realm for now because of an emergency.

The twins, Vision, Sam, James and Steve seemed to have been on a mission, as Clint and Natasha, but a different one. She knew Steve wanted them to work regularly together, to learn to function as a team. He didn't ask for her help in this mission since he wanted her to have time to recover. She had smartly retorted that Pietro also almost died, which he replied that she still hadn't completely got all her energy back. But she was glad she stayed. She missed her work.

She missed the team actually, though she wouldn't admit it.

That morning, when she arrived at work, Thomas was waiting for her, chatting with the receptionist who obviously flirted with him. She found it funny how her female colleagues were always gawking at him. True, he was quite handsome at 30, dressed like Charlie Winston, and coming from London with a cute British accent. But they were missing the point. He was also very gay. The poor girl was wasting her efforts.

When he saw her, he left a very disappointed receptionist and met with her.

"Hey Alice ! We're going to lunch with the boss today ? Or will Mr Stark come here again ? I always knew working with you would never be boring."

She hadn't told him about what happened with Ultron and everything. Her powers were still a secret for now, and wanted to keep it that way. For him, she just knew the boss, Pepper, and the big boss, Tony, who was known as iron man by the public.

"No Pepper is away on business and Tony is busy. He can't visit everyday, despite your wishes."

"I can't believe you are in good terms with a celebrity, Iron Man moreover. I hate you but envy you at the same time."

She laughed. "You know you could have started a conversation with him. But each time you were so shy, like a fanboy frozen in front of his favorite idol. That was adorable."

"Come on ! I mean, the guy's pretty much a genius. You can't blame me for being a little intimidated. Not everyone is as carefree as you."

They started the next part of their research, testing the cells on bigger objects. It was as any other day at the lab. The floor had many others, for different researches units. In fact, all this part of the building was reserved for research units. She really felt comfortable working here.

At lunch, since Pepper was absent, she ate a sandwich in the floor's staff lounge with Thomas, as most of her co-workers did. They would use this time to socialize with scientists from other units, or even sometimes playing games on the TV to take a break.

"Thomas do you have change ? I need coffee and I forgot my bag at home."

"Yeah it's in my locker in the lab. Bring enough so I can take one too."

She peacefully walked in the corridor when suddenly a loud blast made the building violently shake and everything began to collapse. The ceiling and the floor were breaking and falling in some parts. Alice just had the time to activate her power and protect herself with her time shield. The pressure was enormously heavy but she held on. Almost falling through the floor, she quickly stopped its drop, cowering to steady herself.

When the shaking finally stopped, she looked up at the scene of devastation surrounding her. Objects and ceiling had crumbled down, leaving holes in the floor. Dust flew everywhere.

Apprehension crawling over her, she used her abilities to find a way to the staff lounge. The walls had hold on, and the door was stuck. She disintegrated it, rushing through.

A terrible sight expected her. Wreckage was scattered in the room, crushing her colleagues. Bodies laid everywhere. They were twenty-two of them. Thomas was under a piece of ceiling. She hurriedly knelt next to him while turning it to dust. She did the same for the other fragments in the room.

Thomas leg was broken and his shoulder was dislocated. Wincing, she put it back to its place while healing the leg. She checked on everyone else. Four persons had died, the others were unconscious and hurt. She treated them, most of them having wounds like a broken member or concussion. She left them sleeping, searching for a way out instead.

Her cellphone was gone, probably lost during the chaos. She pulled out her friend's to call Tony.

"I'm very busy right now so I hope it's not urgent," a huffed voice replied.

"Actually it is."

"Alice !? Are you okay ? I'm heading your way right now."

"Please tell me you're wearing your suit on you. 'Cause we really could use it."

"Who are you taking me for ? Of course I am ! What's your status ?"

"I was near my lab, on the 30th floor. I'm fine," she answered.

"We think it was a bomb on the 32nd floor. The damages extend to 3 floor upstairs and 3 downstairs. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to make the building collapse," Stark informed her.

"Why would someone place a bomb on that floor ? Is there something special in there ?"

"I have a theory, but for now we need to put everyone to safety," he ordered her. "The stairs are built in a special material so it can resist shocks and be used as an emergency way out. Take them there, rescue will do the rest. I'll take care of the upper floors and join you after."

She went back to the staff lounge, waking her co-workers who looked panicked and ready to crazily run off. She had to calm them down, but not showing her abilities. At that moment, Thomas engulfed her in a hug.

"God ! I though I was a goner ! Are you alright ?!"

"I'm fine don't worry. I also examined you when you were unconscious, there is nothing serious," she reassured him.

"I'm surprised I'm not that hurt, in fact I'm surprised everyone turned out okay."

"Not everyone..." She gloomily whispered, glancing at the four corpses.

Thomas hugged her again. "I know it's selfish, but I'm just glad it's not you and me. It's tragic but we can't change the fact that they couldn't be saved."

She weakly nodded then turned to the others.

"Guys ! People ! You need to stay calm !" she shouted as loud as she could.

"Are we going to die ?! Someone help us !" They were yelling and crying.

"Help is on the way ! In the mean time, we have to go to the stairs ! Right now !" They ultimately understood and all ran to the corridor.

"Be careful ! The floor has collapsed in multiple areas ! Walk slowly !" she warned them. Discreetly, she used her powers to steady the floor by stopping its time. Thomas stayed next to her. Once they reached the stairs, they immediately rushed down, following staff from other floors already doing so. Taking advantage of the chaos, she slipped out before Thomas noticed and went back.

She checked the labs, finding other corpses and healing wounded persons there, then guiding them to the stairs. She ran upstairs, repeating the process. When she arrived 3 floors beneath, she called Stark to make sure it was the last one.

"Yeah. I'm heading to the 32th one. Meet me there."

She arrived only to see hell. The floor had been completely wiped out. Iron Man was inspecting a lab. She joined him.

"Are they any survivors ?" she asked hopeful.

He glanced away. She closed her eyes briefly, processing the news. The attack caused heavy casualties...

"This lab is the starting point." He showed her the burnt out storage fridge. "One of my employees had fabricated a dangerous toxin here. I fired him and took back the chemicals. I got rid of it, but I think he hided some of it around. Probably in here."

The story felt familiar. "Wait ! Isn't that the subway guy ?! The one who assaulted me ?"

"Yes, Tyler Wood. He must have blended in the toxin by pasting on it another label, which he was sure wasn't going to be used. The clever little bastard... We checked his locker but we were sure he had gone with all of it, since he wanted to run away and sell it. He played us."

Alice frowned. "I think he was the one being played. His client must have known of the secret hide out, probably by putting him under surveillance. He used Tyler's escape as a diversion, to make us look in his direction instead of here."

"Anyway," her boss declared, "we need to find the reports. The ones Tyler kept secret. I never found them."

They searched for it for a couple hours, but came back empty handed. "Tomorrow we'll interrogate him at the detention center he's detained at. For now let's go back," Tony spoke.

He carried her down to the street in the rescue area. Teams of firefighters had entered the building. Everyone alive had been evacuated. Some were on their way to a hospital. The others were sent back home.

Thomas ran to her, furious and relieved at the same time.

"Where the bloody hell were you ? Do you know how I worried I was ? I was ready to go back to look for you if only the police hadn't forced me to stay back ! You truly are a pain in the arse !"

Alice stared down, apologetic. "I'm really sorry... I really tried to run but in the panic I was shoved to the side. I was knocked out. Tony found me and got me out of there," she lied, feeling a little guilty.

Her friend finally noticed the big boss and tensed, completely embarrassed. Tony watched him amusedly.

"Oh ! Hum... Thank you so much Mr Stark ! She can be such a klutz..." Alice rolled her eyes. He had no idea.

"No problem. Well I'm leaving. See you tomorrow Alice. Call Pepper when you have time. I'll tell her you're safe." He flew up. Thomas gaped in astonishment.

"Close your mouth fanboy."

He glared at her. "You're lucky to have an excuse, because if not I would have killed you myself."

He drove her home and left. When she saw her reflection in the bathroom's mirror, she cringed. Her hair was wild and tangled, and she was covered in dust. After a long hot shower, she went straight to bed.

The attack today caused heavy casualties... Even after her past and the previous events, she still had a hard time dealing with those facts. It made her angry and so sad. Moreover, it brought back bad memories. Memories she wanted to stay buried deep inside.

She then wondered how the team was holding up. She wished she could contact them, but she knew she would only disturb them during their mission.

"I hope Speedy won't run into trouble again" On this thought, she dozed off.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Next morning, Alice's boss was waiting for her right at her door. Fortunately, she was dressed properly already, and her flat was tidy enough. It was just really weird to see him enter and coolly sit on her couch.

"Hum Tony you should have called me, I would have met you outside."

"I wanted to see this apartment of yours. It's nice. Plain, but nice. Maybe you could add some colors. If I were you, I would rebuild the kitchen completely, it's so old-fashioned." he casually advised.

Alice closed her eyes, remembering that with his personality, it would bring her nowhere to get angry. She was patient, but sometimes his childishness could be irritating.

"I will think about it," she lied dismissively. "I hope you didn't come only to play decorator."

"Of course not. I came to get you. Remember ?"

"Yes I remember. I just though you would have texted me when you got here. Well then let's go."

Taking her jacket and bag, they left. In the car, he didn't stop blabbing. She didn't know there could be someone who could talk so much, even more than her. He didn't stop asking questions about her, to her great discomfort.

"You should dress better," he suggested her.

"What's wrong with my outfits ?" She looked at her clothes. Skinny jeans, sweater and sneakers, as usual. She wasn't the type to put a lot of efforts in her clothes, but she didn't completely neglect her fashion. She would put on shorts and skirts too.

"You look like a 20 years old student."

She rolled her eyes. "Boss, I have other clothes. But when I'm working or on missions like this, I prefer to stay comfortable. So instead of fashion critics, could you please focus on driving or something ? And actually, I'm 24, so this style is quite fitting."

"Wow didn't know you were grumpy in the morning."

He stayed mute for a while, then glanced at her smiling mockingly. "Don't you have a boyfriend or something ?"

"We've arrived," she ignored him.

Relieved from the annoying questioning, Alice got out. The prison's director was waiting for them at the gate.

"Mr Stark, Dr Hart," he greeted them. "I have bad news. The prisoner is dead."

"What ?! How ?"

"He was found early this morning in the showers by other inmates. He had been stabbed. He died of blood loss."

"But how come he was in the showers this morning ? Isn't there a planning for those things ?" Alice asked.

"Absolutely. That's why it's a complete mystery. I viewed the surveillance videos, but there is nothing. The doors were all closed, the prisoners were all in their cells and no one came out."

"Can we verify those videos ?" Stark demanded.

He agreed and led them to the surveillance post and showed them the videos. There was nothing, as he said. The only people they could see just outside the shower room were the prisoners and guards who found the corpse at 8am.

"The medical examiner said he died around 3am. At this time there was no sign of anyone," the director related them.

"Unless the videos were hacked somehow. I don't see any other way," Tony suggested.

"Can you give us the complete list of you employes ?" Alice asked. "Was there any recent employees ?"

"I can't give you any private information..."

"Never mind, we'll do without the files," Tony cut in. Right, he was a hacking genius. With his personality, she could easily forget. "Can you show us the shower room please ? We would like to investigate it."

"Of course Mr Stark. You paid us to keep an eye on the prisoner, that's the least I could do to make amends. We will have to pass in front of some cells, so please Dr Hart don't pay attention to the comments."

He showed them the way. Inmates whistled at her, making some nasty remarks. Shivering slightly, she ignored them, until they arrived to the showers room. It was empty. They had kept it the way it was found except for the body.

"The police already came here, so you'll have to negotiate with them."

Alice and Tony inspected all the area but found nothing, as expected. They left the detention center to go to Tony's place. There, he hacked the prison files, and the police and medical reports.

"As we though the surveillance videos were hacked. And the guy is a real pro. I can't find any trace at all. It really is like nothing happened. I only managed to find a tiny trail but it disappears quickly, there is nothing else," he briefed her.

"I think this is a small fragment of a bigger scheme. Without Wood's reports, it's impossible to know exactly what he made. Didn't you analyze it when you took it back from it ?"

"Yes but when you grilled the electronic circuits, somehow the toxin mixed with the solvent, denaturing its properties, destroying it. It was useless."

"I don't think it was his plan. He really wanted to escape. He wouldn't have destroy this sample. Even if he hided some, he wasn't sure he could retrieve them back, it was too risque. Was he competent enough to create a bomb like this ?"

"Well normally no, but that was his official version. He could have lied. And when he was put in jail he didn't utter a single word anymore. Where are you going with this ?"

"I think his client, or most likely his employer, supplied him with the bomb. Tyler was the diversion all along. He knew you would stop him and find a way to deactivate the bomb. He just had to keep you from analyzing the toxin," she suspected.

"Then what is his goal ?"

Alice frowned, frustrated. "I don't know. If only we could find Tyler's reports. Did you call the others ? Or Fury ? Maybe they know something.

"Fury is off radar again, I asked Hill to ask around. And as you already know, the others are on a mission and can't be reached. Thor is at daddy's place. It's only you and me, doctor who."

"Don't you think it's strange that your lab is being targeted when the team is not here ?"

"It sure is no coincidence. We need to dig more. I'll try to hack into Wood's media accounts. Go to his place. Take a weapon and put on a bulletproof clothe I designed. It's like a t-shirt so it won't hinder you. And take a comm device so we can stay in contact."

She did as he told. She took a small gun, since she wasn't that great of a shooter, that could also be used as a taser. Ready, she borrowed one of Tony's motorbike and went to Tyler's address.

* * *

Wood lived in a small flat despite a good salary. Maybe he was saving up. His interior was plainer than hers. There was no decoration at all, and it was tidy and spotless. The guy was fussy. There was no trace of scientific papers or reports. She inspected every corner, every closet. She was about to give up when something caught her eyes.

His bookshelves looked clean and tidy, with a ton of books about many subjects, and organized according to topics and authors. She examined it more closely. One of them was a science fiction novel, Dune by Franck Herbert, and it was placed in the middle of the biology section. She carefully took it out. It looked normal, but she knew a few tricks of her own. There was a tiny gap between the cover and the joint of the pages. If someone didn't know the trick, it would be undetectable. And right in this gap was a micro SD card.

"Got it," she whispered triumphantly.

Just then, she shivered. She sensed a danger, like someone was going to come in. Maybe she was paranoid, but if someone put this apartment under surveillance, then there was a possibility that they would come get the card. She looked in his desk for something : a USB key.

"Tony !" she called her friend through the comm.

"Found anything ?"

"I need you abilities. You have to hack into Tyler's computer and put false chemicals data in the USB key I connected. Something complex and encrypted. It's urgent."

"Could you ask for something more difficult please ?" She could almost imagine him roll his eyes like a teenage girl. While he accomplished the task, she had put the micro card in her bra.

"Done !" Tony exclaimed. "But why did you want to do that ? Something wrong ?"

She didn't have time to respond. As soon as she took back the USB key, someone blew open the door and blasted the computer in front of her. Her opponent was masked and had a combat suit. He was loaded with a lot of guns. She was sure he was a man though. He didn't speak and continued to blast her as she dodged each time.

"Who are you ?" she yelled at him.

He stayed mute, raised his arm and gripped the air. Just then she felt a powerful force strangling and lifting her up. She tried to push it away but there was physically nothing on her throat. The man approached slowly as she struggled. She quickly put on a thin film time shield on her, which he wouldn't be able to feel. She could breath again, but she continued to play the suffocating victim.

With his other hand, the man plunged into her pocket, snatching the USB key. Next, he clenched the air harder. She assumed he wanted to kill her. Acting up to his expectations, she struggled weakly, numbed her body, and closed her eyes. He let her drop on the floor.

She heard a device scanning her, probably looking for a trace of life. But with her time shield, it couldn't see anything. On the outside of her body, time had stopped, making it look like she was dead.

She then heard footsteps gradually moving away, and the door closed. She remained inert for 10 minutes until she finally got up, still keeping her shield.

She had to find a way to get out of here discreetly. "Stark," she whispered. "Stark !" She hoped the comm wasn't damaged. She picked up crackling sounds until the voice of her boss resonated.

"Alice ? What's going on ?! Are you okay ?"

"Yeah I'm fine... Someone attacked me but I managed."

"What ?!"

"Listen, don't come here. Stay at the tower. I'll meet you there and tell you everything, all right ?"

"When ?" That's what she liked about working with him. He trusted her, and in times like this, he didn't ask useless questions.

"At night." she ended contact. "Now, I just have to wait a couple hours until nightfall."


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Fortunately Alice had parked her motorbike far enough. As stealthy as possible, she reached it with no problem whatsoever. "I'm not some goddamn ninja..." she muttered grumpily.

She drove to the tower. Immediately Friday opened the door for her. When she arrived in the lobby, Stark was already waiting for her.

"What happened ? Are you ok ?"

"Yeah... I think the flat was under surveillance. Whoever hired Tyler was looking for the reports too. And the person who attacked me... He was enhanced."

"What ? Describe everything that happened."

And she told him. When she explained how she got away, Tony laughed.

"I never thought playing dead would actually work... I just thought it was some kind of childish game but it's actually a brilliant plan." she confessed sheepishly.

"Yeah you got lucky. And thinking that there are other enhanced people like the twins... Maybe we missed something when we fought Ultron. Somehow, others were created."

"I don't think it has something to do with Ultron himself. But I know a way to get some answers." With that, she retrieved the SD card in her bra. Tony raised an eyebrow at this.

"Nice hideout."

She grinned and gave it to him. "The reports are on it, that's why I told you to put false info in the USB key. It was a decoy. And I was 90% sure he wouldn't search me there. People tend to forget these places."

"Well nice move nonetheless."

He put it in his computer. "The files are encrypted. He was good at it but I'm better." He smirked, tapping fast. Alice watched some gibberish appear on the screen that seemed to make sense for her boss. After a while, he opened a folder called LTC. He let her take his place since she was the expert. After reading the file, she frowned worriedly.

"That's no good news I'm afraid. LTC is the toxin he created. And it's lethal. To make it simple, it's designed to be a weapon."

"What do you mean ?"

"Well it's a highly volatile substance, and once it is released in the air the toxin is activated. And deadly. It's like a cloud, but invisible and odorless. There is no way to see it coming."

"What are the effects on living organisms ?"

"Well, that depends on the quantity. A small dose will subject the individual, like hypnotism, but will last longer. The dose has to be given every day though. It's a molecule that clings onto the brains cells that manage the emotions and feelings. Everything that define the person. It is like her personality is erased. She doesn't feel anything : every emotion, feeling or sensation has disappeared. She becomes receptive to every suggestion. "

"And with a larger dose ?"

"Well that's when it becomes lethal. It causes brain hemorrhage and ruptured aneurysm. But there's more. Tyler found a few flaws to the toxin."

She read a little more. "The "cloud", as he calls it, is really hard to control and contain. It's difficult to target individuals precisely, and it's dangerous for the perpetrator too. And it dissipates very quickly, so the only way for it to be useful is to be breathed as soon as it's out."

"At least there are some good news..." Tony sighed.

"Yeah... But I'm sure the client will find another way around it. We need to find him. There must be more to his plan. And the fact that nobody can be joined right now is no coincidence. Do you know anything about their mission ?"

"No. There is no trace of their mission anywhere. I think the person who took care of the evidence in the prison is the one behind it. All I know is that Cap told me something about Canada before leaving, but nothing else. The other workers at the Avengers Facility have no idea of their whereabouts."

"And Fury ?"

"Hill tried to join him but to no avail. I will send her the files anyway. Clint and Natasha have disappeared too, but it's always like that when they are on a mission."

"Well that leaves the two of us then..."

"Don't worry kid, I can kick ass an entire army if I have too. I'm Iron Man, don't forget." He winked.

She chuckled. "How could I forget ? You are the most famous superhero. But still, it would be better if everyone were here. What if something happened to them ?"

"They'll be fine kid. The cap is leading them and the man woke up of a coma of 70 years. I'm sure they'll manage." Her boss reassured her.

"I hope..."

She stood to go home but then turned to Stark. "I have a feeling that the client already knows about everything in Tyler's report. He just didn't want us to find it."

Tony looked pensive then nodded. "Yes. And it's a matter of time before he finds out that we have it and that somehow you are alive. Maybe you should stay in the Tower for the night. Just in case."

Alice agreed, too tired to argue.

"I'll try to get more information through my contacts. Just go to sleep, you look like hell."

Glaring playfully at him, she obeyed nonetheless. She went to a guest room, Friday guiding her. After a hot shower, she went to sleep.

* * *

An annoying ringing sound woke her up. It was 10 AM, but really it felt like 3 AM. She angrily picked up her phone, her eyes closed.

"Yeah ?" she answered rudely.

"Alice ? It's Jane. Hum... Is it a bad time for calling you ?"

"No sorry I just woke up... I had a rough night." Alice apologized softly.

"Oh I'm sorry ! I'm an early riser so I tend to forget some people like to sleep in."

"No no it's okay. I had to wake up at some point anyway. So, what's up ?" She sat up, fiddling with the T-Shirt Tony gave her.

"Well, we promised to get some lunch together, and I happen to have something better in mind."

Alice smirked. "Do tell."

"I got some tickets to a science seminar in Boston. It's tomorrow night but we'll drive there tonight. It will last 2 days. Do you want to join us ? Usually it's closed off to most people, only VIPs are allowed in. There will be great researchers who will expose their discoveries, some of them will never be known by the public. I thought it could interest you."

"Hell yes ! I mean... yes that sounds lovely."

Jane laughed. "Erik and Darcy will be coming of course. You know Erik since you met him at the Avengers Facility, and Darcy is a nice girl. She's a little sassy but you'll get along just fine."

Alice hesitated. With the recent events, she wasn't sure she could afford to go out like that. "I don't know I have a ton of things to do and... " She was interrupted by Tony who had barged into her room. Fortunately she was dressed and covered by the quilt. "What the ?!"

"Sorry I heard your conversation and I think you should go." He casually told her.

"What the hell boss ! You can't come into my room like that ! Do you know what privacy means ?" She yelled angrily.

"That's my home." He mocked her.

Breathing deeply, she tried to stay calm. "May I remind you that this is not how Pepper would want you to treat a guest." Her boss paled suddenly, probably imagining the scene his girlfriend would make if she heard of it. Alice smirked.

"Alice ? Hello ?" Alice had completely forgotten about Jane who was trying to get her attention.

"Tell her you accept. We don't have any more info for now and I'll call you and send a jet to get you if something happens. I'll dig into it more while you're away. There is nothing more you can do." He ordered her.

Sighing in defeat, she picked her phone back. "Sorry about that. Seems like I'm free suddenly so why not, maybe it will take my mind off of my problems."

"Great ! We'll meet at you apartment tonight at 6."

Alice agreed and hung up. Tony grinned at her. He had won the battle and he knew it.

"Yeah yeah enjoy your winning all you want... Now let me get dressed."

After making herself proper, she said goodbye to her Boss and left to her flat. Once there, she showered, changed, and packed a few things. She decided to pick some formal wear, just in case, and some comfy clothes. After a small nap, she put some food for her cat and asked her neighbor, a lovely retired lady, to take care of him during her absence.

At 6 pm sharp, Jane was waiting for her in front of the building, in her old van, with Darcy and Erik. They greeted each others and finally hit the road.

"So, how is your research going ?" Alice asked.

Jane explained her progress. Darcy rolled her eyes up while Erik stayed silent. During the ride, they all chatted pleasantly.

It was a nice break for Alice, and she was grateful for it. But deep down, she couldn't shake a feeling off. She couldn't help but worry about everyone, and hoped they would come back in time. Her instinct was warning her : something bad was coming.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

They arrived at the cozy enough motel late at night. The next day they enjoyed sightseeing the city. The seminar would take place in Boston University at night. She was happy to have taken her formal clothes because apparently everyone had to be dressed properly for an evening party.

They went back to the motel to change. Alice put a thin layer of make up with a knee length black dress. Erik wore a nice suit, while Darcy had a flamboyant long red dress, and Jane a beige long dress. Her and Alice preferred short heels while Darcy had the high heels.

They were welcomed by a beautiful sight. The lobby and conference hall had been nicely decorated, and the buffet looked expensive and delicious. It was huge, fancy, and there were a lot of people.

Darcy, who spent the day mocking them for their little "science fan convention", gaped at the scene. "Maybe it won't be that boring. And I'm spotting some cute guys too."

Erik shook his head. "Don't drink too much Darcy, I don't want to carry you back to the motel and wait for you while you throw up...again."

"Yeah yeah I got it DAD."

They sat in their seats in the conference room. It lasted 2 hours. A research team from the university presented their project. It was really interesting and Alice was glad she accepted to come. After it was finished, they went back to the lobby to enjoy the drinks and food. It went on and on like this for 6 hours before it ended. They all went back to the motel, carrying a completely drunk Darcy, who was bawling out "bad romance" in poor Erik's ears. "I can't wait for when she'll pass out..." He groaned.

As Alice decided to make herself some tea, Jane joined her. They chatted for a while until Alice decided to ask a sensitive question.

"Do you have any news from...Thor ?"

Jane froze for a moment, until she sighed. "No... Not since he left hurriedly, saying something happened up there. I presume he's still in Asgard but...I can't be sure. Last time he went back to earth he didn't tell me until I had to find out on my own."

"I'm sorry if I asked something overboard..."

"No it's okay. It's just...Sometimes I wish he could live with me, like a normal man. I know it's selfish, especially when he's a god prince of an entire kingdom. Even here he has to save lives but... I miss him you know." she explained, a few tears in her eyes.

Alice put her comforting arm around her. "I'm certain he misses you too. If he could he would choose you. Hell, I was told he refused the throne for you and for earth. That says a lot. And when he'll return, he will be by your side as soon as he can. And you know you wouldn't feel the same if he was a normal man."

"Yes you're right. I'm just feeling blue, and the alcohol wasn't helping."

"Don't worry Jane, that happens to everyone."

They soon left to go to sleep. Both were pensive about Thor whereabouts.

* * *

The next evening, Darcy joined them in the van, her face ghostly pale and wearing sunglasses with her long black dress. Jane was wearing a green one. Alice chose to wear some formal black shorts and jacket, with tights and a red top. She had black heels.

"You look so refreshed Darcy." Alice joked, hiding her smile while Jane and Erik chuckled.

"Yeah yeah laugh all you want. But if you hadn't stopped me, I would have ended the evening with the cute blond guy..."

"You mean you would have vomited into his mouth ?" Erik mocked.

She glared at him. "Ew how can you be so gross Erik !"

They laughed as they arrived back at the university. Once in the hall, Selvig presented them to some friends : a dark brown hair woman in a lovely golden dress along with a handsome red headed man.

"Here are some friends I happened to meet once in another seminar. They are famous researchers. This is Dr Jeha Dahan, she's from Israel, and Dr Tim Knox, her fiance. They're working on a project together for 6 years now, and they'll finally present it tonight."

"Nice to meet you. You all work with Erik ?" Jeha asked.

"Not at all. I'm working in a different lab but we used to work together. Darcy here is my assistant, and Alice is working for Stark industries in the field of bioengineering." Jane answered. "So what kind of project have you been working on ? If you don't mind us asking."

"We're gonna show you soon. I hope it will be interesting enough. Right now it's safely locked up."

They talked until the presentation. Jeha and Tim held microphones. In the center of the platform stood a strange electronic container with a fluorescent green volatile substance inside. Linked to it was a big laptop on a table. Almost all the lights turned off..

"Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to present to you tonight something we worked hard on for 6 years now. Inside this container are volatile organic compounds. We added fluorescein on each molecule so you can see better, like a cloud. We discovered a way to control this cloud. We added nanorobotic particles in the container. Those particles blended with the molecules of the cloud. Those nanoparticles had been designed along with a computer program. We called it the "D-Target" Now, Tim is gonna use this computer to control the movements of the molecules."

Her fiance did so, as Jeha opened the container. The fluorescent cloud went suddenly upward. It then flew slowly across the conference room, zigzagging, and finally going back to its container, as the woman closed it.

It was truly amazing, and everyone applauded.

"This nanotechnology will be able to help in a lot of fields. We are currently testing its possible uses. But we first want to try it on the pollution control field. It might be able to control and maybe reduce greenhouse gas if we adapt our program on a more larger scale."

As people asked questions to the couple, Alice felt a shiver. Her internal alarms were warning her of something. That's when she noticed a detail : all the staff were young. Young as her age, maybe even younger. Some looked like they were 15. That was weird. They all had impassible faces. One guy though, perhaps in his thirties, stared right at her. Her friends saw her fidgeting.

"What's wrong ?" Erik asked.

"You look like you gotta pee." Darcy smartly added.

"Something feels off. The staff looks weird. I think we should warn security."

"Really ? I don't think you can call the security just because the staff looks weird." Selvig reasoned.

"I know, but trust me. I'm sure something bad is gonna happen."

Jane put on her shoulder a calming hand. "I'm sure it's nothing. I mean, the security is tight. How can anything..."

She was cut off by a sudden blackout.


End file.
